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TiiK  FiusT  Toad  of  the  Spkin'O 
Phntojiraph  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Ilodge 


EDUCATION  BY 

PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


BY 


GEOEGE  ELLSWOETH  JOHNSON 

Superintendent  of  Playoeounds,  Recreation  Parks,  ane 
Vacation  Schools,  Pittsburg,  Pa. 


Man  plays  only  where  he  is  a  human  being  in  the  fullest 
sense  of  the  word,  and  he  has  reached  full  humanity  only 
when  he  plays.  This  proposition  will  acquire  great  and 
deep  significance  when  we  shall  learn  to  refer  it  to  the 
doubly  serious  ideas  of  duty  and  destiny.  It  will  then 
sustain  the  entire  superstructure  of  sesthetic  art  and  of 
the  yet  more  difficult  art  of  life.  —  S(;hiller 


GINN  AND  COMPANY 

BOSTON     •     NEW    YORK     •     CHICAGO     •     LONDON 
ATLANTA     •     DALLAS     ■     (  <  )l.r  M  III  s     .     SAN    ERANCISCO 


101870 


Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall 


Copyright,  1907,  bv 
GEORGE  ELLSWORTH  JOHNSON 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 

722.9 


GINN   AND  C<JMI'ANY  •  I'KO- 
PKlliTORS  •  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


i 


N 

•i 

•s. 
s, 


^\^ 


TO 
PRESIDENT  G.  STANLEY  HALL 


I9  CLARK  UNIVERSITY 


PREFACE 

The  study  of  which  this  book  is  a  re\asioii  was  begun  at 
Clark  University  and  published  in  the  Pedagogical  Seminary 
in  1894.  Since  then  the  writer  has  been  in  very  intimate  and 
almost  constant  touch  with  cliildren.  His  interest  m  child 
play,  awakened  years  ago  and  kept  active  b}'  observation  and 
personal  contact  with  children  in  clubs,  play  schools,  school 
playgrounds,  and  the  home  cu'cle,  has  been  encouraged  by 
numberless  requests  from  teachers  for  the  little  study  pub- 
lished ten  years  ago.  Largely  in  response  to  these  requests 
this  revision  has  Ijeen  undertaken.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  that 
the  book  may  help  promote  a  wider  and  higher  appreciation 
of  play  and  of  its  value  in  education,  and  add  somewhat  to 
the  sum  of  cliild  happiness  m  the  world. 

The  discussion  of  the  meaning  of  play,  of  the  relation  of 
play  and  wTjrk,  and  of  the  history  and  application  of  play  to 
education  is  by  no  means  fidl.  It  can  scarcely  do  more  than 
give  the  pomt  of  view.  The  discussion  of  the  periods  of 
childhood  is  a  bare  summary,  but  is  sufficient,  it  is  hoped,  to 
make  clear  their  relation  to  the  Course  of  Plays  and  Games. 
Of  the  course  itself  it  may  be  admitted  that  it  is  perhaps  too 
condensed.  The  whole  study  is  valuable,  if  at  all,  mainly  for 
its  suggestiveuess. 

The  games  that  are  described  in  the  course  have  been 
selected  from  a  thousand  or  more.  The  reader  should  not 
lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the  variations  of  children's  plays 


viii  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

are  well-nigh  infinite,  yet  the  essential  features  are  few.  The 
games  described  cover  quite  fully  the  whole  field  many  times, 
and  are,  it  is  believed,  wholly  adequate  in  number.  The 
games  selected  are  the  older  ones,  as  a  rule,  and  an  effort 
has  been  made  to  retain  the  older  names.  Most  new  games 
will  be  found  upon  examination  to  be  modifications  of  old 
ones.  The  descriptions  of  games  are  brief,  but  they  are  full 
enough  to  give  sufficient  directions  for  playing.  The  essential 
features  of  the  games  have  been  kept  prominent,  and  they 
are  the  groundwork  upon  which  the  ingenuity  of  the  teacher 
can  build  to  suit  her  peculiar  needs. 

The  greatest  omissions  are  in  those  portions  of  the  course 
that  suggest  the  informal  plays  for  the  different  periods,  as 
the  constructive,  nature,  collecting,  imitative,  dramatic,  and 
musical  plays,  puzzles,  riddles,  and  the  like.  These  might 
well  require  several  volumes  to  present  them  fully,  yet  it  is 
hoped  that  even  here  the  course  will  prove  very  suggestive. 

Attention  should  be  called  to  the  fact  that,  while  some 
minor  differences  will  naturally  appear  in  the  plays  of  boys 
and  girls  all  through  the  course,  practically  no  differentiation 
is  intended  in  the  games  of  boys  and  girls  before  the  fourth 
period,  and  then  in  the  rougher  games  onl}'.  While  many  of 
the  games  common  to  boys  are  generally  not  played  by  girls, 
the  reason  lies  rather  in  custom  tlian  in  any  real  differentia- 
tion of  the  sexes  up  to  the  close  of  this  period,  at  about 
twelve  years.  Girls  will  instmctively  avoid  some  games,  but 
the  attitude  of  the  parent  and  teacher  should  be  to  extend  the 
field  of  plays  and  games  for  girls  throughout  all  tlie  periods. 

A  word  remains  to  be  said  in  regard  to  the  aim  of  the 
Course  of  Plays  and  Games.  No  one  will  make  the  error  of 
supposing  that  the  course  is  intended  as  a  substitute  for 


PREFACE  ix 

courses  of  study,  nor  will  any  one  be  likely  to  suppose  that 
the  course  should  be  strictly  followed.  It  is  designed  to  help 
the  parent  and  teacher  to  utilize  play  in  the  nurture  and 
training  of  children,  by  suggestmg  types  of  activity  espe- 
cially adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  child  at  the  different 
periods,  and  to  the  kinds  of  knowledge  being  acquired  at 
the  time.  Games  and  plays  should  rarely  be  dictated;  they 
should  often  be  suggested,  sometimes  taught,  by  the  parent 
and  teacher  (for  children  welcome  a  leader  in  their  games), 
but  it  is  on  the  environment  largely  that  we  should  place  the 
stress  of  our  efforts. 

It  is  true  that  some  of  the  plays  and  games  suggested 
will,  after  all,  be  only  "  devices  "  when  correlated  with  school 
work,  yet  the  activities  suggested  belong  for  the  most  part 
to  the  spontaneous  plays  of  children,  and  may  be  taken 
advantage  of  without  destroying  the  essential  elements  of 
genuine  play.  When  we  know  more  about  evolution,  wlien 
we  know  more  about  children,  and  particularly  individual 
children,  we  may  so  arrange  courses  of  study  that  earnest, 
interested  zeal  will  abide  with  the  child  through  all  the 
years  of  his  learning.  Not  that  hard  work  will  be  elimi- 
nated. Play  involves  the  hardest  of  work,  a  greater  output 
of  energy  than  drudgery,  just  as  service  does  more  work 
than  slavery ;  but  the  drudgery  will  be  swallowed  up  in  the 
interest,  in  the  earnestness  of  the  zealous  soul,  for  drudgery 
is  in  the  mind  and  heart  much  more  than  in  the  amount 
and  kind  of  work  to  be  done. 

It  would  be  hardly  possible  here  to  make  full  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  indebtedness  I  sincerely  feel  to  the  many  who 
have  in  some  way  aided  in  the  preparation  of  this  book,  to 
teachers,  vacation-school  assistants,  parents,  photographers, 


X  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

and  others.  I  owe  much  to  writers  on  child  study,  and  espe- 
cially to  writers  upon  play,  —  to  Guts  Muths,  who  antici- 
pated much  that  I  have  tried  to  do ;  to  Froebel,  the  creator 
of  the  widespread  interest  in  child  play ;  to  Groos,  who  has 
given  us  a  new  point  of  view;  to  Gulick,  who  has  noted 
the  significance  of  play  at  each  successive  period  of  child- 
hood ;  to  Lee,  who  has  given  a  clear  vision  of  the  need  of 
play  in  the  social  betterment  of  city  children ;  to  Hall,  who 
with  comprehensive  insight  sees  the  relation  and  significance 
of  all ;  and  to  not  a  few  others  also.  To  President  Hall  I  am 
under  great  obligation,  and  to  Dr.  William  H.  Burnham,  who, 
not  only  in  the  initial  study  but  also  during  all  the  years 
since,  has  been  a  source  of  unfailing  help  and  inspiration.  To 
Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge  and  to  Dr.  Louis  N.  Wilson  I  owe  much  in 
the  way  of  material  aid  and  suggestion.  To  all  these  I  express 
gratitude,  knowing  that  without  their  interest  and  help  the 
book  could  not  have  been  written. 


CONTENTS 


Pa(;k 

IXTRODLJCTION    ISV    G.     SXANLEV     IIvi-I xiii 

PAKT  I 

TiiK  TiiKORY,  History,  and  Place  of  Play  in 

Education 
Chapter 

I.    The  Meanixg  of  Play    .      .     .     .* '^-^ 

II.    Pi-AY  IN  Education' 20 

III.    The  Periods  OF  Childhoou  AM)  TiiKiit  Uei.ation  to  a  Course 

OF  Plays  and  Games (55 


PAKT   II 
A  SuGGE.sTivK  Course  of  Plays  and  Games 

Period  One  (Ages  0-3)         88 

Period  Two  (Ages  4-0) 80 

Period  Three  (Ages  7-9)         94 

Period  Four  (Ages  10-12)        155 

Period  Five  (Ages  13-15) 205 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 223 

INDEX 229 


INTRODUCTION 

We  have  here  at  last  a  ciirricuhim  of  plays  and  games, 
graded  by  age  from  infancy  to  middle  teens,  and  also  ana- 
lyzed so  as  to  show  the  chief  mental  and  physical  activities 
involved  in  and  developed  by  each  of  them.  Not  only  age 
and  sex  Ijut  season  as  well  is  taken  into  account.  It  is 
essentially  a  new  book  with  a  field  of  its  own.  Within  the 
past  decade  the  literature  on  plays  and  games  has  grown  to 
formidable  proportions.  Anthropologists  have  collected  and 
described  hundreds  of  them  as  found  in  Chma,  Japan,  and 
India,  in  Europe  and  America,  in  towns  and  cities,  and  among 
savage  races.  The  liistory  of  many  of  them  has  been  traced 
back  to  dim  antiquity,  and  some  have  been  shown  to  be  sur- 
vivals of  forms  of  ancient  rites,  initiation  ceremonies,  types 
of  industry  long  superseded,  etc.  From  Herbert  Spencer  to 
Groos  the  theory  of  play  —  its  origin,  meaning,  and  edu- 
cational value  —  has  been  a  theme  of  steadily  increasing 
interest,  and  there  are  various  theories  by  no  means  as  yet 
harmonized.  It  was  reserved,  however,  for  Superintendent 
Johnson  to  make  the  results  of  these  studies  practical  for 
teachers  and  parents.  Some  ten  years  ago  he  spent  a  year 
in  gathering  nearly  a  thousand  of  the  most  important  and 
widely  diff'used  plays  and  games,  of  which  he  then  eliminated 
more  than  half  to  find  those  that  were  most  representative 
and  important.  These  he  carefully  analyzed  in  order  to  show 
what  muscular  activities,  limbs,  parts   of    the   body,  what 


xiv  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

psychic  qualities  (such  as  reason,  memory,  attention,  skill, 
accuracy,  honor,  emulation),  and  what  kind  and  degree  of 
knowledge  of  mathematics,  language,  geography,  history, 
etc.,  each  developed ;  graded  and  marked  them,  as  it  were, 
upon  these  scales,  and  thus  determined  at  what  age  and 
stage  of  development  each  was  capable  of  its  maximal  edu- 
cational value.  Since  this  work  began  he  has  shown  great 
tact  and  originality  as  a  school  superintendent,  in  using 
portions  of  this  choice  repertory  of  plays  End  games  to  sup- 
plement and  also  to  stimulate  school  studies  by  organizing 
playgrounds,  clubs,  rooms,  hours,  courses ;  and  here  we  have 
the  resi^lts  of  both  his  study  and  experience  combined 
and  practically  correlated  with  the  studies  and  grades  of 
school  work. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  such  a  manual  should  be  read 
by  all  intelligent  teachers  and  parents,  and  that  to  open- 
minded  educational  leaders  it  suggests  important  modifica- 
tions of  school  work,  which  when  made  will  tend  to  greater 
economy  of  mental  effort,  and,  by  turning  on  the  great  motive 
power  of  the  play  instinct,  give  increased  efficiency  to  instruc- 
tion and  to  learning,  and  will  make  headway  against  fatigue, 
perhaps  the  greatest  of  all  obstacles  in  the  child's  pathway. 

G.  STANLEY   HALL 

Clark  University 
WoRCESTEU,  Massachusetts 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS 
AND  GAMES 


Part  I 

THE  THEOEY,  HISTORY,  AND  PLACE 
OF  PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


CHAPTER  I 
THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 

The  evolutionary  point  of  view.  Ritter,  the  great  geog- 
rapher, suinewhere  Hkeiis  the  earth  to  a  seed.  When  the 
world  was  launched  into  space,  a  mighty,  flaming  atom  of 
the  universe,  it  contained  within  it  the  germ  of  all  life  now 
upon  it.  Of  the  physical  life  upon  the  earth  we  know  this 
is  literally  true.  Verily  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth  was 
man  created. 

The  idea  of  the  gradual  unfolding  of  life  upon  and  out  of 
the  earth  in  an  ever-ascending  scale  is  one  of  infinite  sug- 
gestion and  inspiration.  Tliis  idea  is  plainly  suggested  in 
the  Bible,  where  the  account  of  tlie  creation  describes  the 

3 


4  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

evolution  of  the  life  upon  the  earth,  —  first  the  waste  and 
the  void,  then  the  earth  covered  with  water,  then  the  dry 
land  appearing,  then  the  beginning  of  plant  life,  then  animal 
life  in  the  waters,  then  the  monsters  of  the  deep  and  birds 
and  creeping  things  of  the  land,  then  the  beasts  of  the  field, 

and  finally  man.  Tliis  is 
an  outline  in  general  of 
the  claims  of  scientists 
regarding  the  develop- 
ment of  life  upon  the 
earth.  It  is  the  story 
of  evolution,  the  story 
written  everywhere  in  the 
rocks,  the  soil,  and  the  life 
of  the  earth,  the  story  of 
man  created  out  of  the 
dust  of  tlie  earth,  yet 
fashioned  into  the  image 
of  God,  the  divine  breath 
of  life  m  his  nostrils,  be- 
coming a  living  soul. 

Now  biologists  tell  us 
that  every  new  human 
life  recapitulates  in  a  gen- 
eral way  the  whole  scale, 
from  the  lowest  forms  up  to  the  human  child  born  into  the 
world ;  that  each  individual  life  begins  in  a  unit  cell  which 
divides,  then  multiplies,  the  organism  advancing  in  an  ever- 
ascending  scale  to  man. 

Instinct  and  education.    Up  to  a  certain  point  nature  pro- 
vides for  the  full  development  of  the  offspring  independently 


Imu'a  rioN 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  TninibuU 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


of  any  care  or  training  on  the  [(art  of  the  parent.  Many 
insects  spring  into  existence  fully  equipped  for  the  struggle 
for  life.  Their  education,  if  we  might  so  speak  of  education, 
is  hereditary  and  is  transmitted  in  the  form  of  instincts. 

A  little  higher  in  the  scale  of  animal  life  development  is 
not  complete  at  birth,  and  there  is  a  period  during  wliich 
not  only  bodily  growth  ])ut 
also  organic  and  structural 
development  continue  vf^hde 
the  offspring  is  protected 
and  fed,  if  not  trained,  by 
the  parent,  as  in  the  case  of 
birds.  Here  also  education 
is  largely  a  matter  of  in- 
heritance, and  such  hajjits 
and  knowledge  as  are  ac- 
quired follow  largely  the 
dictates  of  certain  instincts. 

Advancing  a  little  higher 
in  the  scale  of  animal  life, 
we  find  still  greater  help- 
lessness at  birth  and  a  still 
longer  period  of  bodily  and 
structural  change  before 
maturity  and  ability  to  cope 
with  the  world  alone  are  reached.  During  this  period  of 
immaturity  the  young  instinctively  exercise  in  playful  ways 
the  growing  powers  by  the  use  of  which  their  ancestors  have 
survived  in  the  struggle  for  life,  as  in  the  case  of  the  fox  or 
the  cat.  Here  education  is  largely  the  result  of  instinctive 
reaction  to  environment  and  of  playful  practice  of  the  powers 


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Experimenting 


6  EDUCATION   BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

l)y  which  the  aiiinial  is  to  maintaiu  life  in  its  luaturit}-. 
One  readily  observes  this  in  the  play  of  kittens. 

Advancing  to  the  hnman  infant,  we  lind  even  greater 
helplessness  at  birth  and  a  still  longer  period  of  innnaturity. 
Here,  as  in  the  case  of  the  lower  animals,  we  find  instincts 
prompting  to  activities  alhed  to  those  by  means  of  w^hich 
our  ancestors  survived.  This  activity  is  known  as  play,  and, 
up  to  a  certain  point  in  the  development  of  civilization,  has 
been  the  chief  factor  in  conserving  and  training  the  powers 
necessary  in  maturity. 

Not  until  this  century,  says  Chamberlain,  did  the  mean- 
ing of  the  helplessness  of  the  human  infant  become  apparent ; 
it  has  taken  long  to  appreciate  the  full  significance  of  the 
prolongation  of  human  infancy.  It  takes  the  cat  one  year  to 
reach  maturity,  only  one  twelfth  of  its  lifetime ;  it  takes  the 
dog  tw^o  years,  one  tenth  of  its  lifetime;  it  takes  the  horse 
four  years  and  a  half,  one  seventh  of  its  lifetime;  it  takes 
man  twenty-five  or  tliirty  years,  fully  one  tliird  of  his  life- 
time. Just  as  the  longer  gestation  period  was  necessary  for 
'  man  to  pass  through  the  stages  of  development,  because  of  its 
wider  range,  than  was  the  case  w^  ith  the  lower  animals,  so  the 
longer  period  of  development  after  birth  was  necessary  for 
the  completion  of  postnatal  evolution  and  of  education  for  life. 

Biology  and  self-education.  Up  to  a  certam  point,  then, 
the  young  have  within  themselves  the  impulse  for  self- 
education,  but  this  education  is  fundamental  and  not  acces- 
sory, —  it  tends  to  aid  perfect  biological  development  during 
postnatal  evolution  rather  than  to  prepare  for  higher  social 
relations.  Hence  arose  the  recognition  of  a  need  of  conscious 
instruction  of  tlie  young.  Now  from  the  time  that  man  first 
began  consciously  to  instruct  his  offspring  there  have  been 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


these  two  factors  in  the  development  of  the  individual  child,  — 
herecUty  and  conscious  education.  Nature  always  strives  to 
conserve  the  needed  powers  of  the  child  and  bring  to  full- 
ness every  promise  of  strength ;  but  nature's  gifts  have  been 
greatly  improved  and  the  advance  of  the  race  greatly  aided 
by  the  addition  of  conscious  training.  Nature,  or  heredity, 
and  conscious  education 
join  hands  in  Ijringing  man 
to  his  best  and  fullest  de- 
velopment. Development 
depends  first  upon  nature, 
or  heredity,  but  it  reaches 
its  best  and  fullest  possi- 
bility coincident  with  and 
partly  because  of  conscious 
education.  Child  culture 
then  has  two  offices :  first, 
to  conserve  the  biological 
succession  under  the  best 
physiological  conditions, 
thereby  conserving  desir- 
able hereditary  traits  and 
powers  and  effectmg  the 
best  possil:)le  organic  development;  second,  to  devote  tliose 
powers  to  the  acquiring  of  such  knowledge  and  such  habits 
as  will  best  further  the  man's  social  usefulness  and  indi- 
vidual happmess.  Emphasis  has  invariably  been  laid  upon 
the  second,  in  our  conscious  education  of  the  child,  with  im- 
punity under  certain  conditions  of  environment,  disastrously 
under  others,  as  in  the  crowded  districts  of  our  larger  towns 
and  cities. 


Imitatiox  —  Reading  to  Baby 
Photograph  by  ]\Irs.  E.  E.  TiumbiiU 


8 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Civilization  frequently  tends  to  thwart  nature's  efforts  to 
do  her  part  in  the  full  development  of  the  cliild,  and  often  we, 
in  our  efforts  at  conscious  training,  have  aggravated  the  ditti- 
culties  civilization  had  already  placed  in  nature's  way,  and 
unwittingly  defeated  the  very  end  we  had  in  view.  We  have 
lost  sight  of  the  l)iolouical  side  of  education  m  our  earnest- 

ness  for  the  sociological.  In 
plannmg  our  school  systems 
we  have  snuhbed  nature.  My 
plea  for  a  wider  recognition  of 
play  in  education  is  this,  that 
the  more  successfully  the  child 
passes  through  the  biological 
stages  of  development,  the  more 
complete  will  he  be  as  a  man. 
Play  is  our  best  great  ally  in 
bringing  up  our  children.  Play 
bears  the  same  relation  to  the 
biological  development  of  the 
cbild  that  education  bears  to 
hereditary  gifts,  and  it  would 
be  as  absurd  to  despise  a  child's 
natural  and  inherited  gifts  and 
attribute  all  to  education  as  to 
ignore  the  relation  of  play  activities  to  child  development. 

An  explanation  of  play.  AVe  must  seek  for  the  explana- 
tion of  play  in  the  study  of  evolution.  The  general  principles 
of  evolution  are  now  universally  accepted,  and  each  year 
finds  some  new  emphasis  laid  upon  the  value  of  the  doc- 
trine of  evolution  in  determining  educational  principles,  each 
emphasizing  the  value  of  play  in  education.    Just  what  play 


Imitation  —  Cooking 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY  9 

is  we  shall  know  when  we  know  just  what  evolution  is.  We 
make  the  study  of  evolution  the  basis  for  the  study  of  the 
child,  and  again  we  make  child  study  the  basis  for  a  study 
of  evolution.  Play  is  interpreted  in  the  light  of  the  known 
facts  of  evolution,  both  the  evolution  of  man  and  that  of 


Keeping  House 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Trumbull 


institutions,  and  again  the  study  of  the  evolution  of  man  and 
his  institutions  are  made  a  basis  for  the  interpretation  of 
play.  Even  the  student  of  cliildren  and  child  play  is  amazed 
at  the  amount  that  has  been  written  during  the  last  few  years 
upon  the  subject  of  play  by  writers  in  anthropolog}^  ]3iology, 
folklore,  education,  child  study,  evolution,  andtsocial  refofm. 


10  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

This  tends  to  show  how  evokition,  cliild  study,  and  play  are 
inextricably  interwoven  in  the  mmds  of  students  of  educa- 
tion of  to-day,  and  this  alone  would  justify  the  attempt  to 
make  more  familiar  a  subject  still  so  unfamiliar  to  people 
generally  and  yet  so  vitally  associated  with  educational  work. 

Without  attempting  at  this  point  to  review  the  history  of 
play  in  education  or  the  theories  that  have  been  advanced  in 
explanation  of  this  phenomenon  of  childhood,  although  such 
would  lend  chgnity  and  authority  to  the  discussion  in  hand, 
let  us  outline  briefly  the  main  established  points  of  evolution 
directly  and  practicably  applicable  to  education  and  generally 
recognized  by  students  of  education. 

It  is  generally  accepted  that  the  child,  in  his  development, 
epitomizes  the  development  of  the  race ;  that  there  are  more 
or  less  clearly  defined  epochs,  or  stages  of  growth,  in  the 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  development  of  the  child ;  that 
de\'elopment  progresses  from  that  which  is  oldest  in  the 
development  of  the  race  to  that  which  is  newest,  from  the 
control  of  the  trunk,  for  example,  to  the  control  of  the  arms 
and  legs,  and  thence  to  the  control  of  the  finer  coordinated 
movements  of  hands  and  fingers ;  fi'oni  the  fundamental 
mental  operations,  as  of  perception  and  memory,  to  associa- 
tion and  reasoning ;  from  cleanlmess  of  person,  oliservance 
(jf  truth,  and  obedience,  to  altruistic  motives  and  devotion. 

It  has  been  found  tliat  when  young  children  are  compared 
with  adults  there  is  a  greater  difference  in  the  control  of  fine 
or  precise  movements  than  in  the  control  of  the  trunk  and 
larger  movements  of  limits.  At  the  age  of  five  or  six  a  child 
is  able  to  walk  witli  ease  and  grace,  but  his  precision  of 
moveme*  of  hands  and  fingers,  for  example,  is  only  about 
thifte  fifths  o%that  of  a  boy  of  sixteen.    This  difference  in 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


11 


control  of  fundamental  and  accessory  movements  is  strik- 
ingly illustrated  in  feeble-minded  children,  the  control  of  the 
finer  movements  corresponding  to  a  higher  degree  of  intelli- 
gence being  very  deficient.  Comparisons  made  between  the 
lower  animals  and  man  show  the  same  increase  of  disparity 
in  the  power  of  man  over  that  of  the  lower  animals  as  we 
pass  from  the  fundamental  to  the  accessory.  The  muscular 
arrangements  of  the  monkey's  hand  and  that  of  man,  for 


Expressmen 

example,  are  very  similar  and  offer  no  adequate  hint  of  the 
disparity  in  the  movements  of  which  they  are  capable. 

Since  muscular  movement  is  the  expression  of  nervous 
activity,  we  should  expect  that  a  study  of  the  development 
of  the  nervous  system  would  show  a  corresponding  order  of 
development.  Dr.  Hughlings-Jackson,  the  Enghsh  patholo- 
gist, made  application  of  tlie  evolutionary  theory  in  the  treat- 
ment of  mental  diseases,  conceiving  three  levels  or  centers 
to  the  nervous  system,  the  lowest  level  controlling  the  reflex 
and  involuntary  movements,  the  middle  level  the  higher 


12  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

more  complex  movements,  and  the  highest  level  being  the 
center  of  universal  and  complete  coordinations.  The  three- 
level  theory  is  now  the  accepted  basis  of  diagnosis  in  the 
treatment  of  epilepsy. 

Dr.  Frederick  Burk,  in  his  very  able  study  of  the  develop- 
ment of  tlie  nervous  system,  draws  with  apparent  justness 
the  following  conclusions. 

The  order  of  development  of  the  independent  parts  of  the  phj^s- 
ical  and  nervous  system  is,  as  a  general  principle  (subject  doubtless 
to  minor  exceptions),  from  that  which  is  oldest  in  the  racial  history 
towards  that  which  is  most  recent. 

In  an  extremely  loose  sense,  —  clearly  recognizing  the  principle 
that  the  organism  develops  by  parts,  each  of  which  has  a  different 
time  of  beginning  its  development,  a  different  rate  of  ripening,  and  a 
different  period  of  reaching  maturity,  —  nevertheless,  we  may  regard 
the  period  of  infancy  as  one  of  predominating  nascencies  of  the 
oldest  fundamental  activities  largely  in  control  of  the  lowest  level  of 
the  nervous  system  ;  the  period  of  childhood,  from  two  years  to 
puberty,  as  the  period  of  predominating  nascencies  of  special  senses 
and  their  associations  one  with  the  other ;  the  period  of  adolescence 
as  the  period  of  the  predominating  nascencies  of  the  higher  form  of 
associations,  i.e.  those  which  have  been  developed  in  the  history  of 
the  human  race. 

Others  have  further  gathered  up  the  material  of  child 
study  and  set  forth  clearly  and  definitely  the  main  periods 
of  childhood,  noting  their  significance  and  value  in  relation 
to  education,  and  many  others  still  have  contributed  in  some 
particular  to  the  knowledge  of  the  physical  characteristics, 
growth,  play,  imagination,  imitation,  emotions,  drawings^ 
ideals,  purposes,  fears,  ambitions,  and  interests  in  many  lines, 
of  children,  all  of  whicli  have  their  l)earing  ii])on  the  discus- 
sion of  the  problem. 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


13 


Play  and  instinct.  The  relation  of  play  to  instinct  is 
fundamental  and  takes  a  large  place  in  the  discussions  of 
play,  and  while  I  do  not  mean  to  stop  to  present  at  any 
length  the  relation  of  instinct  to  play,  it  is  important  to 
notice  one  or  two  points  of  great  interest  in  this  connection. 
With  the  unfolding  development  of  the  child,  accompanymg 
the  "nascencies,"  arise  the  characteristic  native  tendencies 
and  interests. 


The  experiences  of  the 
nervous  and  muscular  sys- 
tems of  man  in  the  long 
period  of  action  and  reac- 
tion of  evolutionary  devel- 
opment have  made  natural, 
if  not  irresistible,  certain 
modes  of  conduct  under 
certain  conditions.  These 
impulses  to  definite  reac- 
tion to  given  stimuli  reecho 
the  historic  activities  of  the 
race,  and  may  be  called  in- 
stinctive. Some  are  intimately  associated  with  organic  func- 
tions which  constitute  our  physical  life,  others  with  the 
activities  which  have  made  for  the  preservation  and  enrich- 
ment of  life.  It  is  the  manifestation  of  these  impulses  which 
gives  rise  to  the  phenomenon  of  play  in  children.  Play  might 
then  be  defined  as  the  expression  of  awakening  instincts.  To 
understand  its  full  significance  in  child  development  it  is 
necessary  first  to  understand  the  significance  of  instinct. 

James,  m  his  chapter  on  Instinct,  has  incidentally  thrown 
light  upon  the  office  of  play  in  education.    Many  instincts, 


Imitation  —  Seu\  ing  Tea 
Photograph  hy  B.  W.  Guppy 


14  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

he  says,  are  transient.  If,  during  the  period  of  activity  of  any 
instinct,  the  environment  is  favorable  for  its  manifestation, 
a  habit  is  formed  wMch  survives  after  the  instinct  has  faded 
away ;  but  if  the  environment  is  unfavorable  for  the  mani- 
festation of  that  instinct,  the  instinct  will  soon  fade  and  no 
haldt  will  be  formed,  however  favorable  the  environment 
may  afterwards  be.  A  chicken  which  has  not  heard  the  call 
of  its  mother  during  the  first  eight  or  ten  days  of  life  will 
never  give  heed  to  the  call.  Young  ducks  kept  from  the 
water  for  a  certam  period  lose  their  instinct  for  swimming. 
Young  squirrels  confined  in  cages,  failing  to  find  soil  in  which 
to  bury  their  uneaten  nuts,  soon  cease  all  efforts  to  bury  them. 

Leaving  the  lower  animals  aside  and  turning  to  human  instincts, 
we  see  the  law  of  transiency  corroborated  on  the  widest  scale  by  the 
alteration  of  different  interests  and  passions  as  human  life  goes 
on.  ...  In  all  pedagogy  the  great  thing  is  to  strike  while  the  iron 
is  hot,  and  to  seize  the  wave  of  the  pupil's  interest  in  each  successive 
subject  before  its  ebb  has  come,  so  that  knowledge  may  be  got  and 
a  habit  of  skill  acquired,  —  a  headway  of  interest,  in  short,  secured, 
on  which  afterwards  the  individual  may  float.  There  is  a  ha])i>v 
time  for  fixing  skill  in  drawing,  for  making  boys  collectors  in  natural 
history  and  presently  dissectors  and  botanists  ;  then  for  initiating 
them  into  the  harmonies  of  mechanics  and  of  the  wonders  of  physical 
and  chemical  law.i 

"  The  natural  conclusion  to  draw  from  this  transiency  of 
instincts,"  says  James,  "  is  that  most  instincts  are  implanted 
for  the  sake  of  giving  rise  to  habits,  and  that,  this  purpose  once 
accomplished,  the  instincts  themselves,  as  such,  have  no  raison 
d'etre  in  the  physical  economy  and  consequently  fade  away." 
.  The  ])lay  im})uls(.'s  of  cliildrcn  Iben,  we  may  allinii,  have 
one  all-important  office  of  giving  rise  to  habits  and  })ermanent 
1  James,  Psychology,  Vol.  II,  p.  400. 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY  15 

interests.  There  is  a  time  when  boys  love  and  must  learn  t(j 
play  ball,  swim,  and  skate,  fur  example,  or  be  deficient  in  such 
sports  and  the  particular  training  they  give  all  their  lives ; 
so  there  is  a  time  when  the  habit  of  activity,  that  is,  the 
hahit  of  work  and  of  enjoyment  of  work  may  be  formed,  and 
its  opportunity  lies  in  forming  the  right  connection  between 


TiiK  Stoke 
Photograph  by  John  Boyd 

play  and  work  at  the  right  time.    The  o]:>portunity  of  play  is 
th^opportunity  of  work. 

Again,  the  trend  of  all  these  studies  is  to  show  that  there 
is  a  practically  definite  growth  and  development  of  the  child, 
physically,  mentally,  socially,  morally,  along  lines  more  or 
less  parallel  with  the  development  of  the  race,  and  that  one 
familiar  with  these  facts  of  child  development  can  gauge  with 
considerable  assurance  of  accuracy  the   interests,  aptitudes. 


16  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

and  needs  of  children  of  a  given  age.  In  other  words,  there 
is  a  law  of  child  development  which  has  to  a  degree  heen 
determined.  Now  since  children  unfold  or  develop  in  a  gen- 
eral way  according  to  a  definite  and  universal  law,  we  find 


p]sKni()s 
Photograph  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 

occurring  all  along  the  line  certain  characteristic  reactions 
to  stimvdi  and  environment,  and  these  characteristic  reactions 
—  pleasurable  reactions,  which  may  be  with  general  accuracy 
foretold  —  are  the  plays  of  children.  Some  make  them  reecho 
the  historic  activities  of  the  race,  harking  back  through  the 
countless  generations  of  human  evolution  ;  others  make  them 
look  forward,  preparing  the  child  for  future  serious  activities 
of  life.  Of  some  of  these  theories  of  play  brief  mention  will 
be  made  later.  Let  it  suffice  here  to  say  that  whatever  view 
we  adopt,  so  far  as  the  practical  teacher  and  parent  are  con- 
cerned, all  views  tend  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  play 
and  continually  to  enlarge  its  field.    We  may  rest  assured  of 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


17 


its  vital  relation  to  the  evolutionary  process,  and,  as  Chamber- 
lain has  well  put  it,  "  play  is  concerned  with  everything ; 
emotions,  feelings,  acts,  thoughts,  imaginings,  speech,  —  all 
begin  their  career  in  its  subtle  shaping  influence."  And  in 
tliis  discussion  of  play  which  is  to  follow  along  a  very  practical 
line,  I  hope,  let  us  think  of  play  as  the  child's  conforming 
to  the  law  of  his  nature.  All  along  the  line  the  child's 
pleasurable  response  to  his  environment  is  his  play. 

Play  and  work.  What  has  been  said  seems  to  indicate 
that  play  is  very  inclusive  of  the  activities  of  child  life  and 
rather  outside  the  ordinary  limitation  which  makes  play 
barren  of  any  object  or  end  outside  the  activity  itself,  a  view 


A    TUOLLEV    It  IDE 

Photograph  by  John  Boyd 

V 

with  which  I  cannot  agree.  Play  may  achieve  an  end  wliich 
is  not  only  in  the  mind  of  the  parent  or  teacher  but  in  that  of 
the  child  as  w^ell ;  and  this  fact  has  a  most  significant  bear- 
ing upon  the  transition  from  play  to  work  in  education.    I 


\ 


18  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

hope  to  show  that  work  and  play  (that  is,  }»lay  in  the  generic 
sense,  however  it  may  be  in  the  popuhir  use  of  the  term) 
^  often  shade  off  so  imperceptibly  in  the  case  of  the  cliild  that 
they  cannot  be  distinguished.  It  is  a  mark  of  genius  to  love 
one's  work,  to  enjoy  it  in  the  doing,  but  it  might  be  a  matter 
of  common  occurrence.  All  play  involves  work,  and  children 
sometimes  love  to  work,  even  to  work  for  a  definite  result, 
as  they  love  to  play.  This  is  a  matter  of  observation  time 
and  again.  I  hold  that  it  is  one  of  the  chief  ends  of  educa- 
r  tion  to  develop  a  hal)it  of  joyousness  in  work.  The  fear  that 
love  of  play  will  interfere  with  love  of  work  is  the  most 
groundless  of  fears^-^  The  more  a  child  loves  play  the  more 
~lk  likely  will  he  be  to  love  work.  The  sneers  that  are  made  at 
the  "  sugar  coating  "  of  school  work  are  made  by  those  who 
do  not  understand  what  play  is,  or  else  are  made  at  the 
efforts  of  those  teachers  who  have  violated  play  in  ignorant 

<  attempts  to  utilize  it.  I  have  no  plea  for  sugar-coated  tasks,  if 
they  really  be  sugar  coated,  but  to  sweeten  work  with  a  real 
joy  in  the  doing  is  the  high  art  of  the  genius  in  teaching.^ 

1  I  have  known  boys  frequently  to  ask  permission  to  take  their  play- 
time to  work  in  their,  gardens,  to  clean  up  barns,  to  sweep  walks,  take 
care  of  chickens,  run  errands,  mow  the  lawn,  hoe  strawberry  plants,  and 
what  not.  A  boy  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  used  his  playtime  every  evening, 
at  Ins  own  request,  to  hoe  strawberry  plants,  until  he  had  hoed  the  whole 
of  a  veiy  large  bed  with  rows  aggregating  a  mile  and  a  (quarter  in  length. 
We  may  mention  also  such  plays  of  boys  as  fishing,  hunting,  setting 
traps  and  snares,  nutting,  building  huts,  rafts,  catamarans,  pigeon  houses, 
training  for  match  games  of  football,  and  a  thousand  other  occupations 
which  involve  much  labor  —  even  drudgery  —  and  definite  objects  to  be 
accomplished.  In  a  school  for  truants  all  kinds  of  household  and  out- 
door work  were  included  in  the  liked  occupations  of  boys.  "  In  all  my 
experience  of  fourteen  years  in  a  truant  school,"  says  Mr.  F.  L.  Johnson, 
"  I  have  Tiever  known  a  really  lazy  boy.  Every  healthy  boy  likes  some 
form  of  woik  tliat  we  havi;  liere." 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY  19 

I  would  not  for  an  instant  give  the  impression  that  I 
minimize  the  sense  of  duty  in  work.  But  is  not  love  of  duty 
a  higher  tiling  than  even  sense  of  duty  ?  Rather  I  desire  to 
exalt  work,  —  the  serious  endeavor  of  children,  —  to  increase 
the  amount  done,  not  lessen  it.  Heartles^s  labor,  the  "  fooling  " 
of  children,  result  from  faulty  coordination.  The  activity 
demanded  by  the  developmg  body  and  brain  has,  in  such 
cases,  not  been  provided.  The  child  soul  knows  its  own,  and 
when  the  cliild  finds  it  nothmg  could  be  more  earnest,  more 
serious,  than  his  efforts  in  appropriating  it.  The  contrast 
should  not  be  between  work  and  play  but  rather  between 
play  and  "  fooling  "  on  the  o]ie  hand,  and  between  play  and 
distasteftd  labor  on  the  other. 

In  The  World's  Work  for  July,  1904,  President  Eliot  writes 
upon  "  Content  in  Work."    He  says  : 

The  ■winning  of  satisfaction  and  content  in  daily  work  is  the  most 
fundamental  of  all  objects  for  an  industrial  democracy.  Unless  this 
satisfaction  and  content  can  be  habitually  won  on  an  immense  scale, 
tlie  hopes  and  ideals  of  democracy  cannot  be  realized.  Therefoie 
joy  in  work  should  be  the  all-pervading  subject  of  the  industrial 
discussion  ;  for  it  is  at  once  motive,  guide,  and  goal.  It  is  only  in 
the  less  skillful  employments  of  mankind,  which  are  also  the  com- 
monest, that  any  question  arises  concerning  the  possibility  of  satis- 
faction and  content  in  daily  work.  All  the  nobler  employments  give 
unich  pleasure.  Every  professional  man,  every  business  man,  and, 
indeed,  every  person  in  whose  occupation  there  is  free  comjietitive 
play  for  intelligence  and  judgment,  takes  pleasure,  or  joy,  or  satis- 
faction in  his  daily  work  ;  and  his  interest  in  his  work  does  not 
depend  principally  on  the  amount  of  pay  he  receives  for  it.  He  gets 
from  it  a  large  satisfaction  independent  of,  and  in  addition  to,  its 
pecuniary  returns.  The  real  question,  then,  is  whether  the  satisfac- 
tions of  the  higher  employments  can  be  measurably  obtained  in  the 
lower.     On  the  right  solution  of  this  problem  depends  the  whole 


20  EDUCATION   BY    I'LAYS  AND  GAMES 

future  of  the  industrial  democracy,  for  there  can  be  no  public  happi- 
ness -without  content  and  satisfaction  from  the  daily  work  of  the 
masses  of  mankind. 

President  Eliot  then  enumerates  the  sources  of  joyousness 
in  work :  first,  the  pleasure  of  exertion,  tlie  active  exercise 
of  one's  j^owers,  bodily  and  mental ;  second,  acliievement, 
particularly  competitive  achievement ;  third,  cooperation,  es- 
pecially when  involving  rhythm  and  harmony ;  fourth,  the 
exercise  of  intelligence,  judgment,  or  skill ;  fifth,  encounter- 
ing risks,  danger,  making  adventures.  Are  these  not  familiar 
terras  of  writers  upon  play  ?  Are  they  not  identical  with  the 
chief  sources  of  pleasure  in  play  ?  And  President  Eliot,  in 
the  article,  mentions  the  identity. 

A  bare  mention  of  some  of  the  theories  of  play  will  make 
still  clearer  the  relation  of  play  to  work.  The  theory  advanced 
by  Spencer  and  Schiller,  that  play  was  due  to  surplus  energy, 
has  recently  been  restated  by  Colozza,  who  makes  play  depend 
upon  the  "  superfluity  of  energy  over  and  above  the  essential 
needs  of  life,"  coupled  with  a  high  degree  of  psychic  activity. 
Nearly  all  writers  recognize  this  element  of  well-being  as 
advantageous  to  play,  although  it  is  claimed  that  play  some- 
times continues  when  surplus  energy  is  no  longer  present. 
President  Eliot  recognizes  this  element  in  the  joyousness  of 
work.  "  If  labor  is  pressed  beyond  the  limits  of  strength  and 
health,  content  in  it  is  impossible.  Any  overwork  destroys 
the  physical  basis  of  satisfaction  in  toil."  Hence  the  whole 
question  of  school  hygiene  and  fatigue  bears  directly  upon 
the  successful  blending  of  play  and  work  in  education. 

Again,  the  mental  attitude  is  important  in  play  and  in 
the  enjoyment  of  work.  A  disagreeable  task  has  often  been 
transformed  into  play  by  the  mere  shifting  of  the  niental 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


21 


attitude.^  I  do  not  believe  it  right  or  wise  to  call  work  play, 
when  there  is  no  real  connection  between  the  two.  To_call 
distasteful  work  play  does  not  make  it  play,  surely ;  but,  on 
fl-ipj-iHipi-  band,  fh^r"  jp  --'ffpii  pgufll  bRrm  in  premature  dis- 
tinctions made  by  parents  and  teachers,  which  bias  the  child  * 
harmfully,  giving  liim  the  impression  that  play  is  pleasurable 
and  work  is  not,  or  that  work  is  worth  while  and  play  is  not. 


Pl.vvixg  Japanese 


We  do  violence  to  the  cliild  thus  to  press  upon  him  premature 
and  ill-judged  distinctions  between  play  and  work,  and  suchi 
have  been  a  by  no  means  unimportant  source  of  the  joyless- ' 
ness  of  daily  duties  the  world  over.    "Happiness  is  a  state  of 

1  A  gentleman  relates  that  when  he  was  a  boy  his  father  succeeded  in 
getting  all  the  stones  in  a  field  picked  up  and  piled  in  one  spot  by  placing 
a  large  stone  in  the  center  and  suggesting  it  as  a  mark  for  his  boys  to 
pitch  stones  at.  All  will  recall  how  it  was  that  Tom  Sawyer  got  his 
fence  whitewashed. 


22 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


^.#    cmct     ^^       QAJU^^ 


3  +  3=6 


WoKIv    OR    Pj-AV   ? 


mind  much  more  than  a  state  of  body."  "  The  causes  of  the 
prevaiHng  discontent,"  says  President  Eliot,  "  are  not  in  the 
circumstances  of  the  people,  l)ut  in  the  minds  and  hearts 
of  the  people  theniselves."    Education  in  harmony  with  child 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


23 


development  makes  habitual  a  happy  attitude  of  mind  in 
both  play  and  work,  when  they  do  come  to  be  distinguished, 
and  tends  to  brmg  into  the  lives  and  work  of  those  who 
spend  their  days  in  labor  much  of  the  motive  and  method 
of  the  artist. 

Alexander's  love  of  acliievement,  which  impelled  him  to 
the  conquest  of  the  world,  is  not  so  unhke  the  love  of  achieve- 
ment of  the  man  who  invents  a  machine,  writes  a  book, 
composes  music,  creates  a  new  species  of  fruit,  discovers  the 
cause  and  cure  of  a  disease,  or  finds  a  new  and  better  way  of 


WouK  OR  Play'*  —  A  Dinxkr  from  their  Own  Gardens 
Photograph  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 

doing  anythmg.  Alexander  cried  because  there  were  no  more 
worlds  to  conquer,  no  further  chance  to  achieve.  Had  he  lived 
in  tills  generation,  he  might  have  learned  that  the  worlds  yet 
to  conquer  are  \mcountable  and  that  each  new  world  con- 
quered reveals  still  others  hitherto  unobserved.    It  is  this 


24  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

lesson  that  our  youtli  should .  learn.  Is  it  not  the  office  of 
education  to  open  up  to  each  child  an  ever-widening  tield 
for  achievement,  an  ever-increasing  joy  and  satisfaction  m 
accomplishing  ?  This  joy  of  acliievement  in  the  line  of  some 
permanent  and  useful  interest  related  to  life  and  adapted  to 
its  needs,  is  what  the  love  of  play  may  and  should  eventually 
develop  into.  Poverty,  hardship,  difficulty,  even  what  in  the 
absence  of  the  right  spirit  and  temper  would  be  drudgery, 
may  only  add  zest  to  the  joy  of  successful  acliievement. 

Our  school  work  should  be  so  selected,  so  graded,  and  so 
presented  that  the  child  may  not  be  deprived  of  the  joy  of 
achievement,  of  a  sense  of  pride  and  satisfaction  in  his  abihty 
to  do.  Subjects  may  be  so  presented  as  to  be  continually 
a  year  or  two  in  advance  of  the  cliild,  often  bringmg  a  sense 
of  weakness  and  humiliation  instead  of  one  of  strength  and 
pride.  This  not  infrequently  happens  in  the  case  of  such 
subjects  as  arithmetic,  technical  grammar,  and  composition. 

We  need  a  new  term  to  express  the  idea  of  play  as  related 
to  education.  Play  always,  jnYolves-  work ;  it  is  the  child's 
work.  As  we  have  said,  the  utmost  seriousness  attaches  to 
it ;  nothing  could  be  more  earnest,  could  be  farther  removed 
from  "fooling."  There  is  no  adequate  reason  why,  with  the 
passing  of  childhood  and  youth,  joy  in  activity  should  cease, 
nor  why  joy  should  not  attend  activity  which  has  definite  and 
useful  results.  Neither  can  I  believe  that  it  is  the  demand 
for  activity,  or  the  capacity  of  feeling  joy  in  activity,  even 
for  its  own  sake,  tliat  is  lost  when  man's  estate  is  reached. 
The  normal  man  must  work,  as  truly  as  tlie  normal  child 
must  play.  And  many  men,  if  not  indeed  the  majority  of 
successful  men,  find  their  work  as  absorbing  and  interest- 
ing as  were  ever  their  games  and  tlieir  sports.    The  habit  of 


THE  MEANING  OF  PLAY 


25 


activity,  if  acquired  in  prematurity,  persists  through  manhood 
and  womanhood.  What  was  at  first  instinctive  has  become 
habitual,  I  am  not  sure  that  the  best  distinction  that  can  be 
made  between  play  and  work  is  not  this :  one  is  the  result 
of  the  force  of  instmct,  the  other  of  the  force  of  habit;  if  joy 
has  gone  from  work,  it  departed  withthe  loss  of  the  sense  of 
_|readoHc  Given  health,  freedom  (opportunity  for  initiative), 
and  absence  of  fatigue,  why  is  not  the  work  of  man  perfectly 
analogous  to  the  play  of  the  cliild  ? 


Pi 

■■■■ 

W^^^^^^^^ 

^M 

■■ 

"^Tyj 

m     nt^VV 

H 

Bl 

Hi 

''    s!^ 

[jBihiB 

r  ■ 

! 

R^ 

^\-   ^ 

1 

J 

p^^^^^ 

It 

hI 

gdSlEyBlj^B 

jB 

H 

Tov  Making  at  the  Andovek  1'lav  iSciiuoL 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 


CHAPTER  II 
PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 

Play  among  the  ancients.  Primitive  man  undoubtedly 
recognized,  in  a  way,  the  educational  value  of  play.  To  many 
of  the  ancients  games  were  of  great  importance.  The  Egyp- 
tians' idea  was  that  heaven  was  a  place  for  music,  dancmg,  and 
games.  According  to  Falkener  many  games  are  of  religious 
origin  and  date  back  to  rites  of  divination.  Plato  expressed 
the  thought  that  man  is  God's  plaything,  and  hence  men  and 
women  should  pass  life  in  the  noblest  of  pastimes.  It  is  not 
surprising,  therefore,  to  find  that  use  was  made  of  play  in  the 
education  of  children. 

The  Greeks  were  the  first  great  exponents  of  play  m  educa- 
tion. Plato  urged  state  legislation  in  regard  to  the  games  of 
cliildren  and  condescended  to  give  good  practical  advice  to 
mothers  on  nursery  play  that  would  be  ideal  for  a  modern 
mothers'  meeting.  Tlie  Greek  educational  games  are  classified 
by  Sonnenschein  as  follows : 

1.  The  games  of  the  nursery. 

2.  The  gymnastic  exercises  of  the  school. 

3.  The  agonistic  exercises  and  social  games  of  mature  life. 
In  the  women's  chamber,  for  lioth  boys  and  girls,  were  the 

rattle,  ball,  hoop  (trundled  by  a  crooked-necked  iron),  swing, 
and  top.  The  boys  also  had  stilts  and  toy  carts,  and  the 
girls,  dolls.  Children  sometimes  made  their  own  toys.  Aris- 
tophanes speaks  of  a  child  who  made  ships  and  even  frogs 

26 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


27 


of  pomegranate  peel.  Plato  discountenanced  too  many  toys 
for  the  nursery,  as  discouraging  originality,  advocated  mimic 
tools  for  carpentering,  and  encouraged  free  play,  those  "natural 
modes  of  amusement  which  children  find  out  for  themselves 
when  they  meet." 

The  outdoor  games  of  the  little  Greeks  seem  very  familiar. 
They  played  Odd  or  Even,  Slap  in  the  Dark  (to  guess  who 


I'jlh    C    Al.l.    OF    xSAllKK 

Photograph  by  John  Boyd 


gave  a  box  on  the  ear),  Hunt  the  Slipper,  Catch  Ball,  Hide  and 
Seek,  Heads  or  Tails  (oarpaKivha,  played  with  oyster  shells), 
')(yTpivha  (child  in  the  middle,  others  pinch  or  slap  until  one 


28  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

is  caught),  Tortoise,  a  similar  game.  Brazen  Fly,  like  Blind 
Man's  Buff  (the  eyes  of  the  child  in  the  middle  are  bandaged  ; 
the  child  says  "  I  will  hunt  a  brazen  fly  " ;  the  rest  answer, 
"  You  will  hunt  but  you  will  not  catch,"  and  strike  the  catcher 
with  thongs  of  leather  until  some  one  is  caught).  Kiss  in  the 
Eing,  Tag,  Eide  a  Cockhorse,  and  others. 

At  seven  years  of  age  the  Greek  boy  was  sent  to  the  pales- 
tra. As  he  started  at  break  of  day  for  school,  accompanied 
by  his  pedagogue,  he  anticipated  a  morning  of  spirited  play. 
He  raced,  leaped,  and  wrestled  with  the  boys  of  his  class,  and 
then  danced  and  sang  until  the  high  sun  called  him  to  rest 
and  to  lunch.  The  exercises  consisted  of  (1)  running,  (2)  leap- 
ing, (3)  discus  throwing,  (4)  javelin  casting,  (5)  wrestling, — 
the  first  two  mainly  for  the  legs,  the  second  two  for  the  arms 
and  the  eye,  and  the  last  for  the  whole  body  and  temper. 

From  sixteen  to  eighteen  years  of  age  the  Greek  youth 
was  admitted  to  the  gymnasia  and  engaged  in  the  pentatli- 
lon,  namely,  running,  leaping,  discus  throwing,  wrestlmg, 
and  l)0xing. 

The  results  of  this  part  of  Greek  education  are  familiar  to 
all.  The  physical  perfection  of  the  Greeks,  their  wonderful 
temper,  stand  out  as  facts  at  wliich  we  have  not  yet  ceased 
to  feel  astonishment.  As  to  the  aesthetic  value  of  the  public 
games.  Professor  Hoppin  of  Yale  says  that  the  public  games 
really  gave  a  raison  d'etre  to  sculpture,  and  that  with  the 
abandonment  of  the  games  Greek  sculpture  declined. 

Play  in  modern  education.  From  the  Greeks  down  to 
Froebel's  time  no  definite  system  of  education  by  play  was 
followed.  Many  writers  and  teachers  recognized  its  value  in 
education  and  not  a  few  made  practical  use  of  it.  Eabelais 
is  as  zealous  m  directing  the  play  of  Gargantua  as  in  choosing 


PLAY  IX  EDUCATION 


29 


his  studies.  Tennis  and  ball,  riding,  wrestling,  swimming, 
every  species  of  physical  recreation  — "  there  is  notliing 
which  Gargantua  does  not  do  to  give  agility  to  his  limbs  and 


l^^K  '  jdHtt^ 

• 

w 

BBBplf^ 

k 

ra 

k^ 

ir 

4 

SSSs^ 

M 

■■ 

Feeding  the   Birds 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Trumbull 


to  strengthen  liis  muscles."  Eabelais,  in  marked  contrast  to 
the  laborious  methods  of  his  time,  proposed  to  teach  by  play 
and  have  his  pupil  "  learn  even  mathematics  through  recrea- 
tion and  amusement." 


30 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Erasmus  suggested  that  the  teacher  should  palliate  the 
tedium  of  drill  in  reading  and  writing  by  an  attractive 
method.  "  The  ancients  modeled  toothsome  dainties  into  the 
form  of  letters,  and  thus,  as  it  were,  made  the  children 
swallow  the  alphabet." 

Comenius  again  brought  the '  play  interest  of  the  cliild 
to  notice  by  his  use  of  objects,  pictures,  and  puzzles. 


Nature  Intkkkst  —  C'ii.vsinc  a  SiMiiiuicL 


The  Jesuits  made  a  conspicuous  entleavor  to  utilize  the 
game  spirit  in  education  by  means  of  their  mmulus,  a  device 
which  they  carried  to  an  extreme.  Each  l)oy  in  school  was 
pitted  against  some  other  boy  in  a  kind  of  intellectual  wres- 
tling match ;  there  was  not  a  boy  who  was  not  w^atchmg  to  trip 
his  rival.  Frequently  sides  were  chosen  representing  hostile 
camps,  called  Ivcniie  and  Carthage,  which  engaged  in  pitched 


PLAY  IN  P:1)UCATI0N  31 

battles  on  some  field  of  Latin  grammar  or  Greek  composition, 
thereby  increasing  greatly  the  zest  of  the  pupils. 

Fenelon  was  an  extremist  m  the  matter  of  making  studies 
agreeable  to  children.  In  study  and  moral  discipline  "  pleas- 
ure must  do  all."  "Conceal  their  studies  under  the  appear- 
ance of  liberty  and  pleasure."  "  ]\Iingle  instruction  with  play." 
"  I  have  seen  certain  children  who  have  learned  to  read  while 
playing." 

Locke  laid  great  stress  upon  the  art  of  making  all  that 
cliildren  have  to  do  "sport  and  play."  He  mentions  a  game 
devised  by  an  acquaintance  "  of  great  quality,"  who  pavSted 
the  vowels  and  consonants  upoh  difce,  making  a  play  for  his 
children,  he  winning  who  threw  most  words  at  one  cast  of 
the  dice,  "  whereby  his  eldest  son,  yet  in  coats,  has  played 
himself  into  spelling  with  great  eagerness."  Locke  especially 
commended  wrestling  as  an  exercise  for  physical  training. 

A  conspicuous  attempt  to  use  play  in  education  was  that 
of  Basedow.  Quick  gives  an  illustration  in  his  quotation  from 
Fred's  Journey  to  Dessau. 

They  play  at  soldiers,  and  Ilerr  Wolke  is  officer.  He  gives  the 
word  in  Latin  and  they  must  do  whatever  he  says.  For  instance, 
wlien  he  says,  Claudhe  oculos,  they  all  shut  their  eyes;  when  he  says, 
Circum.^picite,  they  look  about  them;  Lnitaniini  sutoreiii,  they  draw 
the  Max  thread  like  the  cobblers.  Herr  Wolke  gives  a  thousand 
commands  in  the  drollest  fashion.  Another  game  is  the  "  hiding 
game."  Some  one  wi'ites  a  name  and  hides  it  from  the  children  — 
the  name  of  some  jiart  of  the  body,  or  of  a  plant,  or  animal,  or 
metal  —  and  the  children  guess  what  it  is.  Whoever  guesses  right 
gets  an  apple  or  piece  of  cake.  One  of  the  visitor's  wrote  intestina 
and  told  the  children  it  was  a  part  of  the  body.  Then  the  guessing 
began.  One  guessed  caput,  another  nasus,  another  diyiti,  and  so  forth, 
for  a  lonsj  time  ;  but  one  of  them  hit  it  at  last. 


32 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


They  had  another  game  which  was  this  :  Ilerr  Wolke  gave  the 
coinniand  in  Latin  and  they  imitated  the  noises  of  the  different  ani- 
mals, and  made  us  laugh  until  we  were  tired.  They  roared  like  lions, 
mewed  like  cats,  just  as  they  were  bid. 

Herr  Wolke  asked  the  children  what  he  should  draw.  Some  one 
answered,  Leonem.  He  then  pretended  he  was  drawing  a  lion,  but 
put  a  beak  to  it ;  whereupon  the  children  shouted,  Non  est  leo  —  leo- 
7ies  non  habent  rostrum !    In  the  next  exercise  dice  were  produced  and 


Nature  Interest  —  Saving  the  Tadpoles 
Photograph  hy  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 

the  children  threw  to  see  who  should  give  an  account  of  an  engrav- 
ing. The  engraving  represented  workmen  at  their  different  trades, 
and  the  child  had  to  explain  the'process,  the  tools,  etc. 

Montaigne  and  Eichter  alike  attached  the  greatest  serious- 
ness and  significance  to  the  play  of  children.  Spencer  thought 
that  instruction  should  excite  interest  and  therefore  be  pleas- 
urable. He  says:  "Experience  is  daily  showing  with  greater 
clearness  that  there  is  always  a  method  productive  of  inter- 
est,—  even  of  delight,  —  and  it  turns  out  that  this  method 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


33 


proved  by  all  other  tests  to  Ije  the  riglit  one."    Play,  free  and 
spontaneous  exercises,  he  says,  are  better  than  gymnastics. 

In  1796  appeared  a  remarkable  book  by  Guts  Muths, 
instructor  of  gynmastics  at  Schnepfenthal.  This  book,  Spiele 
zur  Uebung  unci  Erholung  des  Koeiyers  des  Geistes,  had  a 
great  influence  upon  the  physical  training  of  the  German 
people.  Guts  Muths  desired  to  revive  interest  in  active 
games,  wliich  he  believed  had  degenerated  during  the  Middle 


Gatiiekixu  Wild  Flowers 
Photograph  by  F.  S.  Andras 

Ages.  Believing  with  Plato  that  the  games  of  youth  were  of 
political  and  national  importance,  he  wished  to  counteract 
effeminacy  and  ennui  and  develop  vigor  of  body  and  zest  in 
life  by  joyous,  strenuous,  but  innocent  sports.  He  greatly 
discountenanced  games  of  chance,  believing  that  they  helped 
to  cause  a  weakening  of  the  nation,  especially  the  nobility.  He 
considered  card  games  objectionable  mainly  because  they 
crowded  out  active  games,  but  he  thought  they  were  less 
objectionable  in  the  case  of  laborers  who  obtained  active 
exercise  in  their  work. 


34  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Guts  Miith.s  considered  that  the  natural  impulse  to  activ- 
ity is  the  creator  of  play,  and  that  ennui  is  always  and  only  a 
favoring  condition.  The  first  object  of  play  is  the  pleasure 
of  the  activity,  the  second  the  recovery  or  protection  from 
ennui.  Health  of  body  and  joyousness  of  spirit  are  of  first 
importance  in  the  rearing  of  children.  The  moral  influence 
of  play  is  self-evident.  Ennui  he  considered  one  of  the  most 
oppressive  of  evils,  —  a  sickness.  Merriment  and  joyousness 
should  be  spread  abroad.  If  men  were  only  always  joyous, 
there  would  be  far  less  evil  in  the  world.  Guts  Muths 
speaks  of  the  value  of  having  the  sensitiveness  and  "corners" 
rubbed  off  in  the  plays  and  games  of  children,  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  life  ;  also  of  the  value  of  having  older  people  show  an 
interest  in  the  plays  of  children.  The  child  opens  his  heart 
to  the  teacher  thereby  and  they  meet  on  common  ground. 

Guts  Muths  speaks  of  the  fact  that  animals  play ;  dogs, 
fishes,  in  fact  all  things,  play.  He  quotes  Wieland  to  the 
effect  that  work  is  against  the  purpose  of  nature.  The  most 
beautiful  arts  of  the  Muses  are  plays.  "Artists  play  with 
nature,  poets  with  their  creative  power,  pliilosophers  with  ideas, 
beauties  with  our  hearts,  and  kings,  alas,  with  our  heads." 

Guts  Muths  emphasized  the  recreative  side  of  play.  He 
admitted  that  love  of  play  takes  away  the  cliild's  desire  to 
work.-  The  cliild  desires  to  play  and  neglects  his  work ;  but 
if  this  continues,  the  fault  lies  in  the  education.  The  child 
acquires  a  love  of  woi'k  oidy  by  habit  and  routine.  No  one 
works  except  from  necessity  and  then  from  habit. 

Guts  Muths  described  many  games  under  two  main  clas- 
sifications, —  Active  Plays  and  Sitting  or  Eest  Plays.  These 
are  subdivided  into  several  classes,  as  Plays  of  Observation 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


35 


and  Judgment,  Plays  of  Attention,  Plays  of  Fantasy  and 
•  Wit,  Purely  Bodily  Plays;  also  Plays  of  Memory,  Plays  of 
Taste,  and  Plays  of  the  Understanding  and  Higher  Judgment. 
But  it  is  from  Pestalozzi  and  Proebel  that  our  primary 
schools  have  inherited  most  that  is  in  line  with  the  play  activ- 
ities of  cliildren,  — the  grades  more  largely  from  Pestalozzi,  the 
kindergarten,  of  course,  from  Froebel.  Pestalozzi's  conception 
that  education  is  a  growth,  —  "the  outward  evolution  of  an 


-■:^.-. 

."C^'-'-^^V^^  '''^^.  >^•^h... 

■  z-;^ ;-;-••■  \>  ---^ 

Natuke  Interest  —  Gathering  Specimens 


inward  life,"  —  was  as  old  as  Socrates,  hut  Pestalozzi  breathed 
anew  into  it  the  spirit  of  a  living  truth.  The  self-activity  of 
the  child  became  his  guidmg  star,  the  child's  contact  with 
natural  objects  and  reaction  to  environment,  the  means. 
While  Pestalozzi  was  lacking  in  logic  and  sense  of  proportion, 
thereby  failing  in  many  minor  matters  and  details,  his  intense 
and  exalted  humanity  and  the  vitaHty  of  truth  have,  with 
the  addition  of  Froebel's  teachings,  given  us  much  that  is  best 
in  our  primary  schools  to-day,  —  the  principle  of  self-activity 
and  of  contact  with  nature. 


36  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

While  Froebel  lias  influenced  our  primary  schools  as  a  whole 
less  than  Pestalozzi,  he  has  emphasized  the  doctrine  of  self- 
activity  and,  by  a  more  watchful  study  of  child  nature,  has 
thrown  light  upon  the  nature  and  meaning  of  self-activity. 
Froebel  was  the  precursor  of  modern  child  study,  —  an  evolu- 
tionist in  education,  so  far  as  it  was  possible  to  be  at  that 
time.  Besides  his  fundamental  teaching  of  self-activity,  of 
"  inner  necessity  and  impulse,"  he  distmctly  expresses  a  theory 
of  recapitulation,  and  lays  stress  upon  the  importance  of  allow- 
ing the  child  to  be  himself  at  each  succeeding  stage.  This,  as  a 
general  statement,  is  about  all  that  modern  research  and  child 
study  can  say  to-day,  but  as  to  the  understanding  of  those 
stages,  of  their  real  significance,  and  of  their  relation  to  edu- 
cation, we  know  a  very  great  deal  more  to-day  than  Pestalozzi 
or  Froebel  could  possibly  have  known.  Pestalozzi  died  in 
1827  and  Froebel  published  his  Education  of  Man  in  1826, 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  Darwin's  immortal 
work  on  the  Origin  of  Species  appeared.  And  how  much  the 
studies  of  evolution  made  since  then  have  clarified  many 
problems  of  education  and  human  interests ! 

A  new  conception  of  play.  The  studies  of  Perez,  Preyer, 
Sully,  Baldwin,  Hall,  and  many  others,  and  the  host  of  pub- 
lications inspired  in  this  country  by  President  Hall,  have 
emphasized  and  thrown  light  upon  the  postnatal  evolution 
of  children,  as  all  well  know.  These  have  particularly  empha- 
vsized  the  biological  and  physiological  aspects  of  child  devel- 
opment and  their  relation  to  the  mental.  Froebel's  attention 
was  centered  rather  upon  the  recapitulation  by  the  cliild  of 
the  steps  of  human  knowledge.  In  common  with  Spencer, 
Comte,  and  probably  also,  as  Professor  Hailman  suggests, 
with  Pestalozzi  in  a  measure,  Pichte,  (roethe,  Kant,  Hegel,  and 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


37 


Herbart,  Froebel  lield  lliaL  the  genesis  of  knowledge  in  the 
individual  must  follow  the  same  course  as  the  genesis  of 
knowledge  in  the  race.    Froel^el's  evolution  was  one  of  social 


Constructive  Play 
Photograpli  by  John  Boyd 


consciousness  rather  than  one  based  on  that  of  biology  dat- 
ing back  to  Darwin  and  upon  which  students  base  their 
st\idies    to-day.    Evolution,    child  study,    self-activity,    play, 

101870 


38  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

must  have  a  souievvliat  different  significance  to-day  than  they 
could  possibly  have  had  to  Pestalozzi  or  Froebel. 

The  Schiller-Spencer  theory  of  play,  discussed  by  Groos, 
was  that  play  was  due  to  an  overflow  of  energy.  The  over- 
fed nerve  cells  must  discharge.  The  same  idea  appears  in 
Eichter,  Guts  Muths,  and  others.  Froebel  hkewise  based 
it  upon  an  inner  overflow  or  impulse,  but  emphasized  the 
mental  rather  than  the  physical  aspect.  Groos  recognized 
the  influence  of  this  surplus  energy,  but  finds  the_  real  gen- 
esis of  play  in  inherited  instincts  or  impulses,  and  its  ex})la- 
nation  in  its  preparation  for  futvu'e  serious  occupations  in 
the  struggle  for  life.  Hall  finds  in  play  the  motor  habits 
and  spirit  of  the  past  of  the  race  persisting  in  the  present. 
Gulick  finds  in  it  the  manifestation  of  inherited  tendencies 
toward  certain  activities  allied  to  historic  activities  of  the 
race,  preserved  by  the  principle  of  natural  selection.  The 
relation  of  play  to  the  instincts  has  been  noted  by  many 
others. 

The  dictum  of  Froebel  that  the  child  should  be  allowed  to 
be  himself  at  each  stage  takes  on  a  deeper  significance  when 
we  understand  that  it  is  in  the  plastic  period,  or  period  of 
nascency  of  specific  interests  and  powers,  that  may  be  pre- 
served to  the  child  the  countless  hereditary  impressions  ;  and 
it  is  then  only  that  he  may  come  into  full  possession  of  his 
birthright,  his  by  the  right  of  transmission  from  countless 
generations  of  the  fittest  of  the  race,  and  make  them  his 
own  to  transmit  to  generations  still  unborn.  I  woidd  not 
claim  too  much,  but  I  cannot  believe  that  there  can  be  any 
education  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word  that  does  not  deeply 
involve  the  emotions  and  the  will,  that  does  not  take  root  in 
the  inheritances  that  have  come  down  from  the  motor  habits 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


39 


of  the  rac3 ;  and  as  these  motor  habits,  endeavoring  to  persist 
in  the  present,  are  involved  in  play,  we  find  there  the  surest 
and  nearest  approach  to  a  true  education  of  the  child.  Just 
as  the  pliysician  in  his  search  for  a  cure  for  consumption  has 
circumscribed  the  earth  and  finally  come  l)ack  to  the  tiling 
in  all  the  world  the  simplest  and  nearest,  the  first  demand 


A  Young  Boat  Builder 
Photograph  by  Johu  Boyd 

of  the  child  upon  entrance  into  the  world,  — fresh  air,  —  so 
we  in  our  search  for  the  best  means  of  educating  our  children 
are  coming  back  to  that  which  was  the  first  expression  of  his 
awakening  soul,  —  his  play. 

The  use  of  play  in  the  schools  of  to-day.  As  Groos  has 
said,  there  are  two  ways  of  making  use  of  play  in  education  : 
first,  by  introducing  the  playful  into  the  work ;  second,  by 


n:v 

by  ) 


40  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

employing  play  as  a  means  of  development.  But  the  playful 
element  in  instruction  should  not  be  confused  with  genuine 
play.  It  is  this  playful  element  rather  than  genuine  play 
that  has  been  generally  utilized  by  teachers.  It  is  by  no 
means  unimportant  when  rightly  used.  The  kindergarten  has 
utilized  this  playful  element  more  than  actual  play.  Many 
of  the  ring  games  fall  short  of  bemg  real  play,  the  incentive 
to  the  activity  which  the  teacher  supposes  the  cliild  to  have 
being  foreign  to  the  child  at  that  stage  of  development.  Much 
of  the  occupation  work  is  nearer  genuine  play,  especially  when 
free.  The  kindergarten  is  very  wisely  introducing  free  play 
more  and  more.  The  concrete  examples  of  the  use  of  the 
playful  element  in  education,  as  given  in  the  references  to 
Basedow  and  others  (page  31),  will  be  helpful  in  making  the 
distmction  clear.  The  history  of  education  furnishes  many 
classical  examples  of  the  kind.  Many  devices  of  this  nature 
are  in  use  in  primary  schools,  but  the  reader  will  readily  rec- 
ognize that  such  exercises  are  not  in  the  strict  sense  play. 

T^hey  are  rather  devices  introducing,  often  very  advanta- 
eously,_the  playful  element  in  the  work  of  instruction,  and 
have  been  employed  more  or  less  by  teachers,  consciously  or 
\  unconsciously,  everywhere.     But  a  far  more  serious  and  im- 

.,  portant  problem  confronts  us  when  we  endeavor  to  make 
1  systematic  use  of  real  play  in  education.  No  one  now  ques- 
tions that  play  educates.  Can  play  be  engrafted  successfully 
i  into  our  system  of  education  and  still  be  jjlay  ? 

I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I  believe  this  can  be 
done.  The  spontaneous  plays  of  children  can  readily  be  re- 
ferred to  the  instincts  wliieh  ])rompt  them.  During  the  first 
years  of  life,  })lay  is  tlic  natural  teacher  of  the  child.  Through 
play  he  becomes  trained  in  the  control  and  intelligent  use  of 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


41 


the  motor  and  sensoiy  apparatus  of  the  body,  necessary  alike 
for  the  preservation  of  the  individual  and  the  race.  As  he 
gains  in  stature  and  power  his  play  conforms  to  higher  activ- 
ities, through  which  and  by  which  the  race  has  advanced 
towards  civilization.  Some  of  these  activities,  now  bequeathed 
to  children  as  instinctive,  are  construction,  imitation,  acquis- 
itiveness, instinctive  counting  or  tallving,  love  of  music,  color, 
representation,  curiosity 
and  discovery,  emulation, 
pugnacity,  sociability,  or- 
ganization, and  even  seek- 
ing for  causes  and  reason- 
ing. These  all  appear  in 
their  own  good  time,  and 
use  of  them  in  the  work  of 
the  school  is  practicable  to 
a  large  degree. 

In  physical  education 
play  furnishes  a  wholly 
adequate  training  for  the 
normal  child.  Plays  and 
games  are  now  widely  rec- 
ognized as  an  essential  part 
of  the  course  in  physical 
traming.  Lists  of  games,  courses  of  games,  and  books  of 
games  for  school  use  are  becoming  common.  The  advantage 
of  play  over  gymnastics  is  apparent,  if  one  cites  but  a  single 
distinction.  AVhile  the  body  may  be  considered  a  machine, 
it  is  a  machine  of  internal  and  not  external  operation.  The 
nuiscular  system  has  reached  its  present  form  and  develop- 
ment through  movements  executed  in  the  accomplishment 


Making  a  Scrapbook 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Truiulnill 


42  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

of  some  purpose  or  ideal.  The  attention  has  been  upon  the 
thmg  to  be  accomplished  and  not  on  the  movement  itself. 
It  is  thus  in  the  play  of.  children.  But  in  gymnastics  the 
attention  centers  upon  the  movement  itself,  thereby  reversing 
the  natural  order,  destroying  the  spiritual  element,  and  often, 
in  the  case  of  little  children,  inducing  self-consciousness, 
awkwardness,  and  fatigue.  "  No  possible  scheme  of  physical 
training,"  says  Dr.  Gulick,  "  can  do  so  much  for  the  child  as 
his  natural  play,  for  his  natural  play  is  the  result  of  selection 
working  through  unfathomable  ages  of  evolution." 

Eecent  studies  have  greatly  emphasized  the  educational 
value  of  the  motor  play  of  the  young  child.  Indeed  the 
motor  element  in  the  earlier  years  of  life  may  be  urged  as 
not  less  important  than  the  senses  in  the  intellectual  devel- 
opment of  the  child.  The  biologist  tells  us  that  the  nervous 
system  begins  in  a  series  of  concentric  rings.  As  the  form 
of  life  advances  the  center,  or  citadel,  is  located  in  what  is 
termed  the  head.  Through  all  the  orders  of  animal  life  the 
closest  relation  is  observed  between  the  development  of  the 
muscular  system  and  the  nervous  system.  Mosso  and  others 
have  produced  much  evidence  to  show  this  close  relation. 
The  more  mobile  the  extremities  of  an  animal  are,  the  more 
intelligent  it  is.  The  most  mobile  parts  of  the  body  are,  at 
the  same  time,  the  most  sensitive.  Eomanes  pointed  out  that 
the  higher  intelligence  of  monkeys  and  the  higliest  intelli- 
gence of  man  are  related  to  a  more  perfect  instrument  of 
motion, — the  hand.  It  is  in  the  hand  region  that  the  human 
brain  is  most  differentiated  from  the  bram  of  lower  animals. 
The  mutual  relation  of  intelligence  to  movement  is  strik- 
ingly shown  in  a  comparison  of  a  low  order  of  men  with  a 
higher,  and  of  feeble-minded  children  witli  intelligent.     Tlie 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


43 


phenomeua  of  muscular  fatigue  and  mental  fatigue  are  iden- 
tical. Muscular  fatigue  is  accompanied  by  loss  of  power  of 
attention,  and  fatigue  of  attention  is  accompanied  by  loss  of 
muscular  power.  Neither  chemically  nor  microscopically  can 
be  found  any  difference  in  the  brain  cells,  and  Mosso  con- 
cludes that  tlie  psychic  functions  cannot  be  separated  from 
the  motor.  In  the  human 
child  at  birth  the  nuiscular 
system  is  more  incomplete 
than  in  the  case  of  any 
other  animal.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  cerebral  nerve 
fibers.  Mosso  says  that 
this  fact  of  the  undeveloped 
state  of  the  brain  can  be 
explained  only  by  the  fact 
that  at  birth  the  organs 
which  affect  movement  are 
mcomplete.  The  growth  of 
the  brain  ceases  very  early 
in  life,  practically  at  eight 
years  of  age  ;  the  muscular 
system  grows  on  to  ma- 
turity, to  which  time  the 
structural  development  of  the  brain  also  continues.  It  is 
claimed  that  the  sheathing  of  the  cerebral  nerve  fibers  with 
myelin,  upon  which  depend  the  higher  processes  of  thought, 
is  best  effected  by  muscular  movements.  In  short,  there  is 
an  interdependence  of  the  muscular  and  nervous  systems. 
In  the  development  of  the  race  the  nervous  system  has  ad- 
vanced as  the  muscular  svstem  has  advanced,  and  the  same 


ScULPTOKS 

Photograph  by  John  Boyd 


44  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

apparently  holds  true  of  the  mdividual.  As  has  been  well 
observed,  "  there  can  be  no  muscular  development  without  a 
corresponding  development  of  the  nervous  system,  nor  can 
there  be  a  well-balanced  development  of  the  nervous  system 
without  a  development  of  the  muscular  system." 

The  effect  of  the  use  of  play  on  school  work  in  general  is 
worthy  of  mention,  in  passing.  Teachers  who  had  regularly 
made  use  of  games  in  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  session 
were  unanimous  in  saying  that  the  games  revived  the  chil- 
dren, gave  an  added  zest  to  their  study,  and  made  them  more 
quiet  and  responsive.  Tests  of  the  amount  and  accuracy  of 
work  done  by  the  primary  children  after  the  afternoon  games 
showed  a  decided  gain  in  favor  of  the  use  of  games. 

Very  much  of  the  school  work  in  nature  study  may  be 
accomplished  through  play.  The  instinctive  curiosity  of 
children  in  natural  objects  and  the  instincts  of  himting  and 
collecting  furnish  incentives  for  wide  and  even  systematic 
knowledge  of  nature.  Much  work  of  this  character  has  been 
successfully  done  in  the  Andover  Play  School.  Nothing 
could  be  simpler  than  to  utilize  these  play  interests  in  gain- 
ing a  knowledge  of  the  fauna  and  flora  of  a  given  locality. 
The  universal  passion  of  boys  for  hunting  and  exploring,  for 
collecting  stamps,  buttons,  cigarette  pictures,  tobacco  tags, 
and  what  not,  gains  in  interest  and  duration  when  turned 
upon  bugs,  butterflies,  caterpillars,  fishes  and  other  water 
animals,  flowers,  minerals,  Indian  relics,  and  the  watchmg 
of  birds  and  other  woodcraft.  To  this  kind  of  play  Maurice 
Thompson  pays  a  tril)nte  in  Tlie  Boys'  ]5ook  of  Sports. 

The  greatest  scientists,  pliilosopliers,  artists,  and  i>oets  of  the  woi'ld 
in  all  ages  have  been  ready  to  bear  testimony  to  tlie  debt  they  have 
owed  to  outdoor  obsei"vations.     No  man   is  liberally  educated  uho 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


45 


does  not  know  as  much  about  nature  as  he  does  about  books.  The 
school  of  the  woods  and  hills,  fields  and  streams,  is  that  from  which 
our  greatest  thinkei-s  have  been  graduated.  And  of  its  value  as  a 
physical  ti-aining  Professor  Mahaffy  says  that  not  athletics  of  the 
gymnasia  or  palestra,  but  "  field  sports,  hunting,  shooting,  fishing," 
have  produced  the  finest  type  of  man. 


/  The  instinct  for  construction  can  be  made  the  motive  for 
constructive  work  throughout  all  the  grades  of  school  work. 
Play  has  its  influence 
here,  even  when  the 
object  made  is  lacking  in 
specific  interest  to  the 
cliild.  A  boy  may  make 
a  joint  at  his  bench  and 
enjoy  the  work,  although 
he  has  no  use  for  the  joint 
as  such.  '^His  love  of  con- 
struction makes  the  ex- 
ercise pleasurable,  and  in 
so  far  the  construction  i- 
based  upon  play;  l»ut 
when  the  object  made  is 
something  that  the  boy 
desires  for  its  own  sake 
the  play  interest  is  genu- 
ine. Here  we  have  the  much-needed  opportunity  of  supplying 
the  "  motive  for  industrial  effort."  Just  how  far  manual  train- 
ing may  have  the  genuine  play  interest  and  be  satisfactory  in 
educational  ideal  has  not  yet  been  determmed.  Tliat  there 
is  a  wide  application  of  genuine  play  interest  in  manual  train- 
ing has  already  been  demonstrated. 


Making  his  own  Jacic-o'-lantekn 
Pliotograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Trumbull 


46  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

(^  The  value  of  play  iii  moral  training  has  often  been  called 
Ito  the  notice  of  teachers.    If  the  theory  of  evolution  throws 
/any  light  upon  education,  it  certainly  throws  light  upon  the 
J  moral  training  of  children.    Virtues  vary  with  the  period  of 
^development.    Unselfishness  in  a  child   of  three  may  be  a 
Isign  of  weakness  and  not  of  strength.    In  his  play  is  devel- 
/oped  the  selfhood  of  the  child.    In  the  play  of  the  boy  are 
/  developed  individuality  and  sense  of  personal  power,  with 
•     some  sense  of  relation  to  others.    In  the  games  of  youth  the 
individual  becomes  subordinated  to  the  wliole.    The  selfish- 
ness, or  selfhood,  of  the  child  of  three  becomes  the  basis 
of  the  individuality  of  the  adult ;  the  willfulness  of  the  child 
makes   possible  the  determination,  persistence,  and  strong 
will  of  the  man ;  the  excessive  self-confidence  and  self-praise 
of  the  boy  of  ten  become  later  in  life  the  basis  of  tempered 
self-assertion  and  self-respect ;  pugnacity  in  the  youth,  exer- 
cised in  relation  to  a  group,  may  develop  into  that  capacity 
for  righteous  warfare  of  the  public-spirited  citizen. 

Elsewhere  the  author  has  written  more  fully  on  play  in 
Character  Building.  It  seems  best  here  to  omit  further  dis- 
cussion of  the  value  of  play  in  moral  training,  of  the  relation 
of  health  and  joyousness  to  goodness,  of  the  many  hardy 
virtues  inculcated  in  play,  the  "  rubbing  off  of  corners,"  the 
levelmg  influence  of  the  playground,  the  bringing  of  moral 
distinctions  within  the  child's  experience,  and  the  helpful- 
ness of  the  coming  together  of  adults  and  children  at  times 
upon  common  ground,  in  order  to  insert  the  following  letter 
whicli  illustrates  in  a  striking  way  how  attention  to  school- 
yard play  may  aid  the  discipluie  of  the  school. 

In  September,  1!»()1,  I  took  cliari;o  of  the  Elin  Street  School.  This 
school  ct)iisiste(l  of  about  five  hundred  and  lifty  children  in  "rades 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


41 


above  the  third.  It  was  the  most  centrally  located  in  the  city  and  the 
district  extended  for  more  than  a  mile  along  the  river  hank,  embracing 
the  larger  portion  of  the  main  street  and  the  business  section  of  the 
city.  The  entire  Italian  colony  and  about  one  half  of  the  Hebrew 
population  were  included  within  the  boundaries  of  the  district. 

In  such  a  district  many  homes  are  merely  sleeping  places  for  the 
healthy,  active  children.  The  small  yards,  the  congested  and  unat- 
tractive tenements,  and  the  alluring  attractions  of  the  theaters  and 
streets  cause  the  cliildren,  especially  the  boys,  at  an  early  age  to 
spend  the  greater  part  of  their  waking  hours  in  play  or  work  or 
more  idlino-  awav  from  home,  uncontrolled  amidst  the  citv's  turmoil 


The  Elm  Street  School  Yahu 

and  temptations.  Cigarette  smoking,  the  theater-going  habit,  petty 
stealing  from  fruit  stands  and  stores,  lawlessness  and  truancy,  are 
some  of  the  outward  manifestations  of  the  street-developed  character. 
In  this  district  the  school  building  was  a  four-story  structure 
located  in  the  center  of  a  lot  containing  about  two  thirds  of  an  acre. 
On  each  side  of  the  building  was  a  play  yard  with  strij?  of  lawn  in 
fnmt.  On  the  first  floor  of  the  building  the  lowest  panes  of  glass  in 
the  windows  were  painted  white,  to  prevent  the  children  from  looking 
out  on  the  street.  It  is  said  that  prisoners  were  formerly  marched  along 
this  street  to  the  police  court  and  that  the  distractions  thus  caused 
seemed  to  justify  the  coating  of  the  windows.  However  true  this  may 
be,  the  appearance  of  the  police  van  in  the  vicinity  or  the  ringing  of 
the  city  fire  alarm  was  sufficient  at  any  time  to  empty  the  yard. 


48  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Siu;li  a  schoi)!  naturally  iircst-nled  pn)l)leiii.s  in  discipline  and 
truancy.  Eor  the  year  ending  June,  1901,  there  were  recorded 
against  it  ninety-nine  cases  of  corporal  punishment  and  two  hundred 
and  eighty-one  half  days  of  truancy,  the  school  in  these  respects 
having  the  worst  reputation  in  the  vicinity.  I  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  ninety-nine  cases  of  punishment  reported  included  only  the 
cases  in  which  the  ferule  was  employed,  —  probably  not  a  large  per- 
centage of  the  actual  number,  if  the  term  "corporal  punishment  " 
were  strictly  interpreted.  Ordinarily,  teachers  who  work  under  such 
conditions  become  pessimistic  and  lose  sight  of  higli  ideals  in  being 
forced  to  accustom  themselves  to  practices  against  which  their  finer 
feelings  and  better  judgment  rebel. 

The  boys'  play  yard  was  small  and  was  covered  with  a  loam  which 
made  it  unfit  for  use  in  damp  weather.  In  such  a  yard,  without 
equipment  of  any  kind,  and  with  such  a  large  number  of  boys,  a 
principal  quite  naturally  and  easily  fell  into  the  role  of  policeman, 
prohibiting  games  and  suppressing  activity.  Such  a  policy,  though 
probably  employed  by  most  of  our  princijials  to-day,  drives  children 
into  the  street  and  is  one  of  the  chief  causes  of  truancy. 

Four  or  five  weeks  after  the  opening  of  school  we  set  about 
improving  our  yard.  The  city  covered  it  with  a  mixture  of  broken 
stones  and  sand.  .V  wooden  frame  containing  four  pairs  of  rings 
and  two  horizontal  bars  was  erected.  The  rings  were  of  iron  and 
were  fastened  to  the  frame  by  rope.  The  bars  were  each  about  six 
feet  in  length  and  were  made  of  two-inch  iron  pipe.  Eight  boys 
(!ould  exercise  at  one  time  on  this  apparatus,  and  it  soon  developed 
that  rapid  and  vigorous  exercise  was  necessary  in  order  to  enable  tlie 
waiting  lines  of  boys  to  jiarticipate  in  the  pleasure.  From  time  to 
time  other  pieces  of  api)aratus  were  added  until,  in  about  a  year, 
we  had  in  the  boys'  yard  the  following  in  addition  to  the  frame 
above  :  two  punching  bags,  a  twelve-pound  shot,  apparatus  for  high 
jumping  and  pole  vaulting,  game  of  skittles  or  out-door  bowling,  and 
an  oval  race  track  one  thirtieth  of  a  mile  in  length.  As  the  yard  was 
too  small  to  allow  imrestricted  ball  throwing,  bases  were  painted 
on  the  brick  ])av(iment  at  one  „nd  of  the  playground,  and  the  boys 
were  interested  in  the  pitchers'  art.  Care  was  taken  in  the  selection 
and  placing  of  apparatus  that  the  yard  might  continue  to  be  available 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


49 


for  free  play.  The  large  frame  and  track  were  periiiaueut  featiux's 
of  the  yard,  the  others  were  removed  when  not  in  use.  Some  of  the 
apparatus  was  made  by  the  boys.  The  city  did  not  provide  or  pay  for 
any  of  it. 

Some  instruction  in  the  use  of  the  various  pieces  of  apparatus 
was  attempted  with  sufficient  success  to  warrant  the  belief  that  such 
work  as  directors  now  do  so  admirably  in  indoor  gymnasiums  could 
be  duplicated  on  a  larger  scale  in  grammar-school  playgrounds. 
The  rings,  punching  bags,  shot,  and  race  track  seemed  to  hold  the 


Boys  making  a  Doll  House  (to  be  furnished  by  prijiary  children) 
By  permission  of  W.  A.  Baldvviii 

interest  most  strongly.  The  track  was  used  for  team  or  relay  races 
and  occasionally  for  bicycle  races.  Long-distance  running  was  quietly 
practiced.    A  thirty-foot  rope  was  frequently  used  for  tug  of  war. 

All  the  pieces  of  this  outdoor  gymnasium  were  placed  entirely 
at  the  disposal  of  the  boys,  and  although  I  was  told  by  those  who 
had  been  connected  with  the  school  a  dozen  or  more  years  that 
every  movable  piece  would  disappear,  not  even  a  bolt  was  stolen  or 
lost  during  the  entire  four  years.  The  yard  became  very  popular. 
Roys  were  often  using  the  gymnasium  an  hour  before  school  in  the 
morning  ;  there  were  hasty  lunches  and  constant  activity  at  noon, 


50 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


and  an  liour  after  tlie  closing  of  tlie  afternoon  session  generally 
found  the  apparatus  still  in  use.  Saturdays  the  boys  begged  to  be 
allowed  to  i>\ay  in  the  yard,  and  the  janitor  often  kindly  allowed  the 
privilege.  Neighborhood  boys,  not  members  of  the  school,  uncertain 
of  the  principal's  disposition  toward  them,  entered  the  yard  diffidently 
and  experimented  with  the  bars  and  rings  and  punching  bags.  Dele- 
gations of  boys  from  other  schools 
visited  ns  to  take  notes  and  meas- 
urements. The  city  fire  alarm 
was  no  longer  strong  enough  to 
empty  the  yard,  and  prisoners 
received  only  occasional  glances 
as  they  entered  the  courthouse 
across  the  way.  Many  of  the  boys 
sold  newspapers,  and  sensational 
criminal  court  news  seldom 
escaped  them.  They  knew  when 
to  expect  the  jjrisoners  for  trial 
at  the  courthouse  and  often 
looked  forward  to  their  arrival. 
I  have  seen  as  many  as  two  hun- 
dred boys,  as  if  with  one  impulse, 
rush  out  of  the  side  gate  during 
a  noon  hour  to  gaze  upon  a  pris- 
oner as  he  was  escorted  from  the 
police  wagon  to  the  courthouse 
door.  However,  from  the  time 
the  first  piece  of  apparatus  was 
p\it  in,  I  never  saw  more  tliau  two  or  three  boys  at  one  time  suffi- 
ciently interested  to  step  outside  the  yard. 

For  several  winters  the  yard  was  flooded  and  used  as  a  skating- 
rink  by  both  girls  and  boys.  At  the  first  snowfall  the  boys  cleared 
the  yard,  piling  the  snow  in  the  form  of  a  dike  around  the  edge.  In 
a  weeTc  or  two  this  froze  solid  and  formed  a  basin  into  which  the 
city  water  was  poured.  Parents  were  especially  interested  in  this 
feature  of  the  outdoor  work  and  urged  its  continuance,  as  they  feared 
to  have  their  children  skate  on  the  treacherous  Connecticut  near  by. 


J^ 

V 

1 

Windmill  made  by  Boys  at  the 
Andover  Play  School 


TLAY  IN  EDUCATION"  51 

The  girls  had  sufficient  room  on  tlieir  lawn  for  the  use  of  two 
croquet  sets.  Their  yard  was  so  small  that  it  seemed  best  to  leave 
it  without  apparatus. 

The  outdoor  gymnasium  and  supervised  play  made  the  boys  haji- 
pier  in  their  school  life.  It  raised  the  tone  of  the  school  by  bringing 
about  a  better  disjjositiou  toward  teachers  and  toward  school  work. 
It  brought  the  principal  in  closer  touch  with  the  children  and, 
while  increasing  his  knowledge  of  them,  strengthened  his  influence 
over  them.  The  teachers  took  advantage  strongly  of  the  enthusi- 
asm and  good  feeling.  They  voluntarily  discarded  their  ferules  and 
worked  for  higher  ideals.  We  interpreted  "  corporal  punishment  " 
strictly  and  j-eported  accordingly.  We  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  abol- 
ish it  entirely,  but  the  number  of  cases  was  reduced  seventy  or  eighty 
per  cent.  The  most  noticeable  change,  however,  was  in  the  truancy 
record.    The  following  speaks  for  itself  : 

Half  Days  of  Truaxcy  1!ecokded  against  the  School 

Year  ending  June,  1901 281 

Year  ending  June,  1902 166 

Year  ending  June,  1903 79 

Year  ending  June,  1904 46 

Year  ending  June,  1905 33 

J.  L.  RiLEv,  Principal 

Particularly  in  the  vacation-school  movement,  with  its  far- 
reaching  social  and  moral  influence,  play  naturally  takes  a 
prominent  place.  The  following,  reprinted  from  "The  Country 
Boy,"  Massachusetts  Civic  League,  Leaflet  No.  8,  is  suggestive. 

In  certain  schools  in  Andover,  Massachusetts,  there  were 
circulated  blank  forms  like  the  following : 

ANDOVER  PLAY  SCHOOL 

July  16 -August  24 

APPLICATION  FOR  ADMISSION 

T  wish  to  attend  the  Andover  Play  School.  I  prefer  the  following 
occupations  iu  the  order  in  which  I  have  numbered  them. 


52  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

(Choose  five) 

Collections  :  Minerals,  stamps,  coins  (if  you  prefer  some  other, 
please  mention  what). 

Cooking  (for  girls  twelve  or  over). 

Drawing. 

Field  Work  :  Butterflies,  birds,  fishes,  flowers,  and  ferns. 

Gardening:  Flowers,  vegetables. 

Outdoor  Games  and  Plays  (mention  your  favorite  games  and 
plays). 

Mechanics:  Boats  and  boat  sailing,  dam  and  water  wheel,  machin- 
ery, steam  or  electric  motors. 

Dancing  (girls  only). 

Dramatics  (girls  only). 

Music  :  Singing,  orchestra,  piano  (mention  the  instrument  you 
can  play). 

Photography  (cameras  not  furnished). 

Sloyi)  :  Basketry,  cardboard  and  paper  work  (girls  and  boys  under 
twelve),  woodwork. 

Swimming. 
Printing  (boys  only). 

Each  applicant  is  requested  to  name  any  (HMuqiatiou  oi-  study  that 
may  be  preferred  to  those  mentioned  above. 

Name, 

Age, 

School  and  grade,   

I  approve  of  this  application, 

Parent's  signature,  

Note.  Applications  must  be  handed  in  before  April  1.  The  fee  for  the  entire 
term  is  fifty  cents,  and  the  fee  must  be  paid  and  a  ticket  of  admission  obtained  be- 
fore July  1.  If  for  any  reason  any  one  who  has  obtained  a  ticket  cannot  attend 
the  school,  the  money  will  be  refunded.  But  in  every  case  the  full  fee  must  be  paid 
for  one  week's  attendance  or  more. 

There  are  to  be  three  schools  :  one  for  boys  and  girls  from  five  to  eight  years 
of  age;  one  for  girls  from  nine  to  fourteen;  one  for  boys  from  nine  to  Fourteen. 
Tiiis  application  is  to  be  tilled  out  by  children  nine  and  "over.  Parents  may  apply 
for  children  under  nine. 


PLAY  IN   EDUCATION  53 

Applications  came  in  pioniplly,  ami  soon  passed  the  luni- 
drecl  mark,  when  all  other  applications  were  refused.  There 
were  about  lift}-  applications  signed  by  boys  from  nine  to 
fourteen,  about  thirty  by  girls  from  nine  to  fourteen,  and 
twenty-odd  by  parents  for  children  under  nine.  The  choices 
of  the  boys  fell  in  about  the  following  order  of  preference, 
yet  there  was  striking  uniformity,  each  occupation  havmg  a 
goodly  number  of  choices :  outdoor  games,  woodwork,  swim- 
ming, field  work,  gardening,  printing,  orchestra;  for  the  girls, 
cooking,  basketry,  field  work,  outdoor  games,  dancing,  swim- 
ming, dramatics,  gardening.  Drawing  was  also  popular  with 
both  boys  and  girls. 

The  public-school  plant  was  used,  the  only  additions  being 
the  sloyd  benches  and  tools,  printing  press  and  type,  loaned 
by  the  Andover  Guild,  which  organization  was  the  source 
of  financial  support.  The  play  school  opened  at  8.30  a.m. 
and  closed  at  noon,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  the  children 
could  be  driven  away  to  their  dinners ;  but  some  of  the 
children  and  some  of  the  teachers  usually  returned  in  the 
afternoon.  The  term  lasted  six  weeks,  from  about  the  middle 
of  July  to  the  last  week  in  August.  It  was  the  original  pur- 
pose of  the  play  school  to  enroll  those  boys  of  the  community 
who  spent  the  long  summer  vacation  in  the  streets,  in  rough 
and  profane  ball  games,  in  inordinate  swimmuig,  predatory 
expeditions,  and  like  occupations ;  but  the  earnest  petitioning 
of  not  a  few  of  the  best  people  in  the  town  for  the  admission 
of  their  children  finally  opened  the  doors  of  the  school  for 
some  children  of  most  excellent  home  influences. 

Perhaps  the  favorite  occupation,  on  the  whole,  was  the 
woodwork.  There  was  a  complete  sloyd  outfit  and  a  trained 
sloyd  teacher.     No  attempt  was  made  to  hold  tlie  boys  to  a 


54 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


formal  course.  The  woodwork  was  to  serve  as  a  sort  of 
supply  shop  for  the  api)aratus  used  in  school.  The  boys  made 
their  own  buttertiy  uets  aud  tish  nets  for  the  nature  work. 
They  made  the  mounting  boards  used  in  mounting  the  speci- 
mens, the  cases  for  the  permanent  collections,  developing 
cages  for  the  caterpillars,  aquaria  for  the  fishes,  box  traps  for 


AkCIIEUV Bows    MADE    BY    THE    BoYS 

Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

catching  squirrels,  etc.  If  a  l)oy  was  interested  in  archery, 
he  made  his  bow  and  arrows ;  if  in  cricket,  a  bat ;  if  in  kite 
flying,  a  kite ;  if  in  making  a  present  for  a  younger  brother 
or  sister,  a  toy  table,  perhaps.  Mothers,  too,  reaped  the  bene- 
fits of  the  shop,  for  a  l)oy  often  turned  from  his  toy  making 
to  the  making  of  a  sleeve  board,  ironing  board,  bread  board, 
shelf,  or  something  else  for  tlie  house.     Sometimes  the  boys 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


55 


united  in  making  some  giant  affair  of  common  interest,  —  a 
log  house,  a  great  windmill  which  supplied  power  for  turn- 
ing the  grindstone,  a  dam  and  sluiceway  for  the  water  wheel, 
or  a  catamaran  for  the  swimming  pond. 

The  nature  work  was  hardly  less  popular  than  the  toy 
makmg.  Nearly  every  morning  there  might  have  been  seen 
a  company  of  ten  or  a  dozen  boys  starting  out  with  a  leader 
in  search  of  butterflies  or  fishes,  and  for  the  incidental  study 
of  birds  or  frogs  or  snakes,  or  whatever  came  to  their  notice 


A  Street  Boy's  Collection 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

while  hunting.  The  older  boys  devoted  themselves  mainly 
to  the  butterflies,  the  younger  to  the  fishes.  Nearly  every 
species  of  butterfly  to  be  found  in  Andover  during  the  season 
was  captured,  many  kinds  of  caterpillars  were  taken  and 
developed  into  chrysalides  in  the  cages,  and  nearly  all  the 
different  kinds  of  fishes  to  be  found  in  the  streams  and  ponds 
were  caught  and  studied.  The  work  consisted  largely  of  out- 
door tramps,  but  there  was  also  laboratory  work,  and  the  de- 
scription and  drawing  of  the  worm,  chrysalis,  and  butterfly. 
Honeybees  in  an  observation  hive  and  ants  in  nests  made 


66  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

of  school  slates  covered  with  glass  were  watched.  Some  of 
the  ants'  nests  were  successfully  kept  and  watched  for  months, 
one  boy  keeping  a  colony  all  winter.  The  microscope  was 
frequently  used  in  the  laboratory  work.  Notebooks  on  fishes 
were  also  kept.  The  interest  of  the  boys  was  deepest  in  the 
gathering  and  general  observation  and  naming  of  speci- 
mens, the  watching  and  feeding  of  the  fishes,  and  less  in  the 
minuter  observation,  drawmg,  and  naming  of  parts.  The  zeal 
in  hunting  specimens  was  often  intense.  It  was  no  uncom- 
mon thing  to  see  a  boy,  when  the  school  was  not  in  session, 
alone,  with  a  heavy  pail  on  his  arm,  a  fish  net  in  his  hand, 
sweltering  along  in  the  dog-day  sun,  seeking  some  new  treas- 
ure for  his  aquarium.  Boys  who  had  good  luck  on  these  occa- 
sions —  as,  for  instance,  in  catching  some  handsome  speckled 
trout  —  would  seek  the  leader  in  feverish  excitement  to  com- 
municate the  great  achievement. 

The  ignorance  of  many  boys  whose  environment  by  no 
means  justified  their  lack  of  knowledge  was  sometimes  sur- 
prising. A  grammar-school  boy,  visiting  the  school,  knew  the 
fishes  simply  as  fishes,  being  unable  to  name  with  certainty 
a  single  species.  Another  boy,  who  was  within  one  year  of 
the  high  school,  brought  to  school  in  high  elation  one  morn- 
ing some  "speckled  trout"  for  the  aquarium  which  proved 
to  be  tiny  spotted  salamanders,  whose  legs  presented  no  diffi- 
culty to  him  in  his  classification. 

Allied  to  the  nature  work  was  the  gardening.  A  part  of 
the  school  yard  was  plowed  and  a  definite  portion  allotted 
to  each  boy  who  chose  gardening.  A^egetables  of  various 
kinds  were  planted.  Flowering  plants  were  also  intrusted 
to  the  boys'  care,  and  were  taken  home  and  trans])lanted  at 
the  close  of  the  school.    The  following  spring  many  of  these 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


57 


boys  were  reported  as  having  started  gardens  of  their  own 
at  home. 

The  second  period  of  the  day,  one  hour  in  length,  was  spent 
in  outdoor  play.  In  one  section  of  the  playground  might 
have  been  seen  a  group  of  boys  engaged  in  a  match  at 
archery.    In  another  section  the  older  boys,  perhaps  divided 


A  Boy's  Vivarium  and  Aquarium 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

into  opposing  sides  by  some  natural  grouping  wliich  lent  zest 
to  emulation,  were  hard  at  some  spirited  game  of  ball.  Else- 
where some  of  the  younger  or  less  athletic  boys  were  play- 
ing at  tenpins  on  the  smooth  driveway,  or  at  bean  bags. 
There  were  also,  at  times,  football,  ringtoss,  tag  games,  boxing, 
wrestling,  racing,  jumping,  vaulting,  gymnastic  tricks,  kite 


68 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


flying,  boat  racing^  at  Eabbit's  Poud,  swimming  races  at 
Pomp's  or  in  the  Shawsheen.  Three  times  a  week  there  was 
a  division  in  swimming.  The  swimming  lessons  often  served 
as  a  good  opportunity  for  collecting  outdoor  specimens  or 
plants  for  the  aquaria.     On  rainy  days  there  were  indoor 

games,  which  partook  more 
of  the  nature  of  social  or 
parlor  games,  and  wliich 
were  intellectual  rather 
than  physical. 

The  musically  inclined 
boys  were  always  eager  for 
an  orchestra.  This  took  the 
f(jrm  of  the  "  kindersym- 
phonie."  Th.e  talents  and 
attainments  of  the  boys 
made  the  music  necessarily 
crude,  but  it  was  nnich  en- 
joyed by  them.  The  violin- 
ists were  children  who 
came  for  the  orchestra 
alone,  the  play-school  boys 
being  confined  mainly  to 
time-beating  instruments. 
There  was  also  a  class  in  piano  playing  which  met  twice  a 
week,  the  school  piano  being  used  in  practicing. 

1  These  boat  races  were  races  of  the  sail  boats  made  by  the  boys.  One 
day  I  bought  a  handsome  steel  yacht  at  a  toy  store  in  Boston  and  offered 
it  as  a  prize  to  the  boy  who  could  make  a  boat  that  would  beat  it.  When 
the  trial  came  off  there  was  n't  a  boat  made  by  the  boys  that  did  n't  out- 
.sail  mine  ;  and  I  was  somewhat  embarrassed,  but  secretly  proud,  for 
there  wasn't  a  boy  who  would  accept  my  boat  as  a  gift. 


i'uLi:    \'aI  l.Tl.NG 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION 


59 


The  printing  department  appealed  to  some  as  real  play. 
The  press  served  to  print  the  names  of  the  boys  ui  the 
several  departments,  the  baseball  teams,  headmgs  for  school 
exercise  papers,  cards,  some  billheads,  and,  best  of  all,  a  four- 
page  paper  containing  compositions  by  the  boys  on  the  work 
of  the  various  departments,  names  of  prize  takers,  cuts  of 
drawings  made  m  the  nature  work,  lists  of  specimens  cap- 
tured, and  the  like. 

Besides  the  drawing  in  the  nature  work  there  was  a  divi- 
sion in  drawing  for  those  who  preferred  it  to  any  other 
occupation  they  might  have  during  that  period.    The  work 


Girls  Making  Use  of  Natural  Swimmixg  Pool 

took  mainly  the  form  of  large,  free-hand  drawings  from  objects. 
This  was  more  nearly  allied  to  the  regular  school  work  than 
that  of  any  other  department,  unless  we  except  the  library, 
from  which  the  boys  eagerly  drew  books  of  stories,  history, 
or  nature  for  home  reading. 


60 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


The  occupations  of  the  girls  were  very  similar  to  those  of 
the  boys  in  some  respects  and  very  ditferent  in  others.  The 
girls  had  no  chance  at  general  toy  making  as  had  the  boys, 
but  they  cooked,  made  dolls'  hats,  dolls'  hammocks,  and 
baskets,  of  rattan  and  raffia,  and  did  some  fancy  work.  They 
played  their  outdoor  games,  went  off  on  field  excursions  after 


Exhibit  of  Baskicts 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

ferns  or  insects,  and  went  swimmuig.  The  facilities  of  most 
country  towns  in  the  matter  of  swimming  for  girls  are  much 
underrated.  Two  places  were  readily  found  where  girls  might 
be  taught  to  swim.  One  was  in  a  pond  near  a  house  where 
a  good  opportunity  for  dressing  was  given  in  a  near-by  shed. 
Another  was  later  selected  as  even  better,  in  a  secluded  spot 
along  the   Sliawsheen    IJiver.     Here  the  girls  went  freely. 


PLAY  IX  EDUCATION 


61 


happily,  and  unmolested,  with  their  teacher,  and  several 
learned  to  swim  in  a  short  time. 

Dancing  and  dramatics  occupied  a  portion  of  the  girls' 
time,  and  at  the  close  of  the  school  a  play  was  very  suc- 
cessfully given  to  the  public,  the  proceeds  being  given  to 
the  school. 

Some  of  the  girls  took  gardenmg  on  equal  terms  with  the 
boys,  and  raised  their  share  of  flowers  and  vegetables,  which 
were  in  due  season  appropriated  for  their  homes. 

While  the  conditions  in  Andover  were  fa^'orable  for  carry- 
ing on  a  school  like  that  described,  they  were  by  no  means 


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Dramatics 
Photograph  hy  C.  S.  Moore 


unusual.  I  have  yet  to  see  a  country  village  where  a  similar 
school  could  not  be  successfully  conducted,  with  the  accom- 
panying benefits  to  the  children,  so  many  of  whom  are,  with- 
out question,  injured  l)y  the  experiences  of  the  long  summer 


62  EDUCATION   BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

vacation.  Teachers  there  are  in  abundance  who  would  gladly 
work  in  a  vacation  school  for  the  price  of  their  board.  The 
salaries  paid  the  "  faculty  "  and  helpers  employed  in  the  An- 
dover  Play  School  averaged  about  four  dollars  a  week.  The 
highest  salary  paid  was  ten  dollars,  and  the  lowest  notliing. 
During  the  past  year  a  most  successful  school  has  been  con- 
ducted in  Andover  by  two  teachers  in  the  public  schools, 
the  total  expense  of  which  was  less  than  three  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars,  the  school  enrolling  sixty-five  children.  But  such 
schools  can  be  run  at  a  much  less  cost  if  the  community  is 
willing  that  the  teachers  serve  without  pay,  and  playgrounds 
with  many  of  the  accompanying  benefits  may  be  conducted 
at  about  as  near  no  expense  as  the  community  will  allow. 

The  following  may  be  of  interest  as  sliowing  tlie  impres- 
sions that  parents  got  of  the  value  of  the  playground  influence 
on  their  children.  They  are  direct  quotations.  "  It  kept  him 
off  the  streets,  and  1  knew  where  he  was  " ;  "  seemed  per- 
fectly happy  all  through  the  summer-school  term " ;  "  was 
better  able  to  begin  his  school  studies " ;  "  increased  his 
happiness  by  having  something  to  do " ;  "  kept  him  out  of 
mischief  "  ;  "  kept  his  mind  occupied  "  ;  "  had  Ms  own  garden 
at  home,  and  took  care  of  it,  —  something  he  was  not  inter- 
ested in  before  "  ;  "  helped  liim  at  school "  ;  "  made  good  use 
of  things  he  learned  " ;  "  was  nuich  interested  in  insects  " ; 
"  enjoyed  liimself  every  day  " ;  "  was  more  agreeable,  as  he 
had  something  to  think  of  "  ;  "  set  liim  thinking  "  ;  "  made 
home  life  more  interesting  in  constriicting  things  lie  saw  at 
school "  ;  "  made  Mm  more  ambitious  "  ;  "  made  him  inter- 
ested in  his  learnmg  " ;  "  made  a  pigeon  coop,  studies  birds 
a  good  deal  and  butterflies " ;  "  made  him  brigliter  and 
quicker";  "made  him  good  in  his  manners";  "did  liim  a 


PLAY  IN  EDUCATION  •        63 

good  deal  of  good  on  his  character  and  disposition."  These  are 
typical  of  many  expressions  used  by  parents  who  felt  that 
their  boys  were,  through  the  play  school,  benefited  rather 
than  injured  by  the  long  vacation.  They  are  by  no  means 
exhaustive  of  what  might  be  said  in  summary  of  the  value 
of  playgrounds  for  country  children,  but  they  certainly  will 
prove  suggestive  to  those  who  are  concerned  about  the  chil- 
dren of  the  streets  of  our  country  towns. 

Gulick,  in  a  remarkable  paper  on  the  "  Psychological,  Peda- 
gogical, and  Religious  Aspects  of  Group  Games,"  dignifies  the 
moral  and  social  influences  of  ball  and  athletic  teams.  Lee 
places  group  games  at  the  head  of  all  schools  of  citizenship 
and  says : 

In  playing  these  games  the  boy  is  not  going  through  the  forms  ofj 
citizenship, — learning  parliamentary  law,  raising  points  of  order,  andl 
moving  the  previous  question,  —  he  is  being  initiated  into  its  essence,  | 
actually  and  in  a  very  vivid  way  participating  in  the  thing  itself. 
He  is  experiencing  citizenship,  not  learning  about  it ;  undergoing 
the  actual  and  habitual  experience  of  losing  the  sense  of  his  own  [ 
individuality  in  that  of  a  larger  whole.  ^ 

To  the  boy  playing  football,  the  losing  himself  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  team,  utterly  subordinating  his  individual  aims  to  the 
common  purpose,  is  not  a  matter  of  self-sacrifice  but  of  self -fulfill- 
ment,—  the  coming  into  his  birthright,  the  satisfying  of  his  human 
necessity  of  socialization,  of  becoming  a  part  of  a  social  or  political 
whole.  What  is  being  born  in  that  boy  is  the  social  man,  —  man 
the  politician,  man  the  citizen,  —  and  it  is  my  belief  that  in  most 
instances  this  political  or  social  man  will  get  himself  thoroughly  and 
successfully  born  in  no  other  way. 

In  these  and  other  departments  of  school  work  the  applica- 
tion of  the  play  interest  will  depend  much  upon  tlie  adaptation 
of  work  to  the  stage  of  the  cluld's  development.  Arithmetic, 
language,  science,  and  history  may  be  made  to  swing  mto  line 


64     •      j:r)UCATioN  uv  tlays  anj)  games 

with  the  child's  interests  and  powers.  When  such  is  done 
there  is  not  enough  difference  between  play  and  work  to  quar- 
rel about ;  and  the  highest  type  of  work  is  the  work  which 
has  the  largest  amount  of  play  in  it.  The  great  men  of  all 
ages,  in  every  department  of  life's  work,  have  had  this  play 
interest  m  their  work.  As  Brinton  says,  "  The  measure  of 
the  value  of  play  is  the  amount  of  work  there  is  in  it;  and 
the  measure  of  the  value  of  work  is  the  amount  of  play  there 

i  is  in  it." 

»  To  aid  us  in  using  play  in  education  to  the  best  advantage, 
we  have  the  many  studies  of  child  development  and  interests. 
The  following  chapter  is  a  very  brief  summary  of  the  results 
of  the  best  of  these  studies,  and  is  intended  to  make  clearer 
the  principles  involved  in  tlie  choice  of  the  plays  and  games 
included  in  the  course  to  follow. 


CHAPTEE  III 

THE  PERIODS    OF    CHILDHOOD  AND  THEIR   RELATION 
TO  A  COURSE  OF  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Period  One  (Ages  0-3).  The  rapid  and  wonderful  changes 
through  which  a  chihl  passes  prior  to  birth  are  hardly  more 
wonderful  than  the  changes  of  the  first  years  of  life.  At  birth 
the  brain  fillers  are  not  complete,  the  ner^•e  endings  in  the  skin 
are  not  perfected,  the  different  parts  of  the  brain  are  not  con- 
nected, and  the  striped  muscles  are  very  undeveloped.  The 
child  is  without  intelligence  and  without  control  over  the 
muscles  of  the  body.  He  cannot  see,  cannot  hear,  scarcely 
feels  the  single  prick  of  a  pin  ;  but  at  once  under  the  stimuli 
of  the  world  without  and  the  impulse  of  life  witlmi  all  thmgs 
begin  to  change.  Gradually  sensations  of  taste,  smell,  liear- 
ing,  temperature,  touch,  and  sight  are  received  and  recorded. 
The  parts  of  the  bxam  become  connected  and  the  different 
sense  perceptions  become  associated. 

Meantime  the  brain  and  body  are  gi'owing  at  a  marvelous 
rate.  The  weight  of  the  body  trebles  the  first  year  and  the 
length  increases  seven  or  eight  inches.  The  brain  increases 
two  or  three  times  its  weight  the  first  year  and  about  ten  per 
cent  more  during  each  of  the  next  two  years. 

The  sensations  which  are  pouring  in  through  all  the  ave- 
nues cause  their  characteristic  changes  in  the  brain,  and  mem- 
ory begins,  very  weak  at  first,  and  comparatively  weak  even 
at  tlie  end  of  the  period,  for  few  adults  remember  back  of  the 

65 


66  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

fourth  year.  As  early  as  the  sixth  month  movements  seen  and 
sounds  heard  are  reproduced  through  the  impulse  of  imitation. 
Meantime  the  rapidly  growing  body  is  constantly  exercised. 
Every  waking  hour  is  spent  in  almost  constant  physical  move- 
ment. These  movements,  beginning  in  the  reflex,  instmctive, 
and  impulsive  movements,  increase  in  mtensity  in  the  sub- 
se(][uent  motor  plays  of  the  child.  With  the  accumulation  of 
sense  perceptions  and  the  development  of  association,  concep- 
tion and  reasoning  begin,  bvit  reasoning  remains  through  this 
period  and  long  after  largely  a  matter  of  association.  Finally, 
with  the  development  of  association,  memory,  control  of 
speech  muscles,  and  imitation,  speech  appears. 

These  years  then  seem  to  be  given  largely  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  senses,  getting  control  of  the  fundamental  move- 
ments of  the  body  and  its  members,  and  the  acquisition  of 
speech.  This  has  been  termed  the  period  of  physical  adjust- 
ment. It  is  very  easy  here  to  see  the  relation  of  play  to  men- 
tal and  bodily  development.  Practically  the  whole  psychic 
life  and  all  conscious  bodily  movements  conform  to  the 
nature  of  play.  The  child  play  of  this  period  is  determined 
by  the  peculiar  needs  and  conditions  of  the  developing  brain 
and  body.  At  first  the  mterest  centers  about  the  mouth. 
Everything  the  child  can  grasp  is  crowded  into  the  mouth 
with  both  hands  and  feet.  As  each  sense  develops  keen 
interest  centers  upon  it.  Gradually  the  different  senses  are 
associated  with  each  other,  and  each  new  power  acquired  adds 
new  zest  to  the  interest.  With  the  ability  to  sit  erect,  for 
instance,  comes  increased  interest  in  seeing ;  with  increased 
interest  in  handling  objects  comes  a  new  interest  in  experi- 
menting with  the  senses ;  with  the  acquisition  of  creeping 
comes  an  added  interest  in  the  room  and  its  contents,  and 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD 


67 


vice  versa.    All  the  way  along,  iuterest  follows  the  line  of 
developmg  powers. 

It  is  all-important  that  the  environment  should  be  such 
as  to  give  suitable  opportunity  for  the  natural  plays  of  this 
period.  These  play s  we  may  briefly  catalogue :  sucking;  grasp- 
ing ;  mussing ;  moutliing ;  kicking  and  other  movements  of 
the  limbs ;  experimenting  with  the   senses,  —  taste,  touch, 


BLriLDix<;  A  Dam 


sight,  hearing,  smell,  temperature;  getting  control  of  the 
body ;  speech,  as  in  babbling ;  imitation  ;  creeping,  climbing, 
walking;  talking;  memory,  repetition,  recalling;  exploring; 
construction  (destruction),  the  plays  constantly  widening  the 
field  of  motor  activity,  sense  perception,  memory,  imitation, 
and  speech.  To  these  may  be  added  interest  in  passive  motion, 
as  in  riding  and  swinging,  interest  in  rhythm,  —  the  basis  of 
delight  m  ]\Iother  Goose  and  mother  plays,  and  music. 


68  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Period  Two  (Ages  4-6).  Tliis  period,  just  preceding  or 
including  the  first  school  years,  is  a  continuation  of  the  tirst 
period  in  many  essential  features.  There  is  still  a  rapid  growth 
of  the  body  and  brain  (the  brain  growing  but  little  in  size 
after  the  sixth  year)  and  a  predominance  of  the  sensory  and 
motor  in  the  psychic  life.  The  sensory  side,  however,  is  grad- 
ually being  overtaken  and  surpassed  by  the  motor.  The 
memory  is  strengthening,  the  auditory  and  motor  images  seem- 
ing to  be  more  distinct  and  lasting  than  the  visual.  Sensory 
knowledge  is  far  in  advance  of  judgment.  Eeasoning  is  still 
largely  a  matter  of  association,  res'ulting  frequently  in  ludi- 
crous and  false  inferences.  Since  the  child  lacks  so  in  experi- 
ence and  observation  of  things  in  relation,  his  understanding 
is  deficient  in  grasp  of  relation  and  proportion,  and  he  jumps 
at  conclusions.  Butter  is  thought  to  come  from  butterflies ;  the 
smoke  makes  the  sky;  water  is  alive  because  it  runs;  if  one 
hand  is  the  right  hand,  the  other  must  be  the  wrong  hand ;  a 
holiday  is  a  day  to  "  holler  "  in.  It  is  a  guessing  period.  Imit?- 
tion,  which  we  saw  was  well  developed  by  the  second  year, 
has  changed  somewhat  in  character.  The  first  imitations  were 
largely  direct  imitations  of  movements  and  sounds  of  adults. 
J  During  these  years  the  child  continues  to  imitate  adults 
rather  than  other  cliildren  or  animals,  but  the  imitation  is 
less  direct,  less  instinctive  and  impulsive.  With  his  wider 
knowledge  and  increased  power  of  doing,  the  child  begins 
to  adapt  the  act  of  the  adult  to  some  play  idea  of  his  own. 
Instead  of  simply  making  believe  sweep  or  dust,  lie  plays  he 
has  a  house  and  actually  sweeps  and  dusts  it.  Coupled  with 
the  strong  impulse  to  imitate  is  the  great  suggestibility  of 
this  period.  It  is  preeminently  a  time  of  suggestion  and  imi- 
tation.   The  imagination  is  very  active.    Having  an  increased 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD 


69 


fund  of  sensory  facts  and  being  unhampered  by  sense  of  rela- 
tion and  proportion,  he  builds  freely  with  his  mental  images. 
Familiar  ideas  are  altered  to  suit  a  passing  fancy :  a  box 
becomes  a  boat,  a  playmate  a  horse.  Imaginary  playmates, 
even,  are  created.  Playing  with  the  imagination  often  becomes 
a  source  of  cliikhsh  hes ;  it  is  also  the  basis  of  the  animistic 


Felling  the  Tkees 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

tendency  which  invests  even  the  pebbles  with  life.  The  devel- 
oping interest  in  cause  and  effect  and  in  the  relations  of  tilings 
is  expressed  in  the  passion  for  questioning.  Interest  in  com- 
mon objects  and  toys  culminates  at  the  close  of  this  period, 
intensifying  interest  in  ownership,  collecting,  and  hoarding. 

After  the  fourth  year  children  play  with  other  children 
rather  than  with  adults.    It  is  not  an  unselfish  period,  however. 


70  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

The  child  is  unable  as  yet  to  grasp  well  the  relation  of  his  acts 
to  other  children.  He  is  selfish  and  self-assertive  ;  in  his  play 
with  other  children  his  activity  has  little  cooperation.  What 
he  does  is  for  himself ;  desires  clash,  and  quarrels  are  frequent. 
It  is  still  a  period  of  keen  and  volatile  emotions ;  anger,  jeal- 
ousy, fear,  sympathy,  pity,  and  love  are  easily  aroused. 

The  play  activities  of  this  period  reflect  the  characteristics 
of  growth  and  development  at  this  time.  They  center  about 
free  motor  activity,  largely  for  its  own  sake  and  not  for  the 
sake  of  results  ;  about  common  objects  and  what  may  be  done 
with  them ;  experimentation  of  the  senses  and  accumulation 
of  sense  knowledge  ;  memory  ;  explanation  of  things,  guessmg, 
questioning  ;  play  of  the  imagination ;  and  especially  imitation. 
In  these  activities  are  naturally  involved  constructive  play  of 
a  crude  sort;  a  free  use  of  the  hands  and  common  objects  as 
tools  ;  interest  m  plants  and  animals  as  playfellows ;  exploring ; 
imitation  plays,  as  house,  store,  trains,  sewing,  cooking ;  count- 
mg,  measuring;  collecting  and  hoarding;  story  interest,  rhythm, 
music,  dancing.  Nearly  the  whole  field  of  interests  is  covered, 
but  the  character  of  the  manifestation  of  those  interests  is 
typical  of  the  period  and  has  largely  to  do  with  free  motor 
activity,  sense  perception,  and  imitation.  These  facts  are  con- 
sistently held  in  mind  in  the  selection  of  the  plays,  games, 
and  toys  mentioned  in  the  Course  of  Plays  and  Games  for 
this  period. 

Period  Three  (Ages  7-9).  Coming  now  to  children  of 
seven,  eight,  and  nine  years  of  age,  we  need  to  note  several 
important  changes.  The  rapid  brain  growth  of  the  previous 
periods  ceases  during  this  period,  and  the  brain  reaches  nearly 
its  full  weight  at  about  eight.  In  general,  it  is  a  period  of 
rather  slower  physical  development,  including  also  a  brief 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD 


71 


period  of  regression  of  indefinite  lengtli  (for  its  culmination 
differs  more  or  less  in  different  individuals),  which  is  impor- 
tant on  account  of  the  dangers  attending  it,  but  which  parents 
and  teachers  have  seldom  seriously  considered.  Somewhere 
about  the  eighth  or  ninth  year  there  comes  a  setback  to  the 
child.     There  is  a  change  in  the  circulatory  svstem,  —  the 


Sklecting  the  Logs 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

veins  and  arteries  are  larger  proportionately  than  the  heart, 
and  there  is  a  tendency  to  heart  weakness.  Second  dentition 
is  taking  place,  and  the  child  is  badly  off  as  regards  chewing 
surface,  many  children  having  from  two  to  five  of  their  teeth 
missing  and  from  thirty  to  forty  per  cent  of  them  diseased. 
The  chUil  is  liable  to  toothache  and  disturl>auces  of  digestion. 
He  fatigues  more  easily  than  formerly  and  is  often  thought  to 
be  lazy  or  stupid.  Returns  from  teachers  showed  the  smallest 


72  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

number  of  bright  children  and  the  largest  number  of  dull 
cliildren  in  this  period.  More  children  fail  of  promotion  in 
this  period  than  in  any  other.  Just  now  there  is  a  tran- 
sition from  the  diseases  of  children  to  those  of  adults,  about 
half  of  the  diseases  occurring  at  this  time  belonging  to  the 
previous  period  and  about  half  to  adult  life.  There  is  an 
increased  tendency  to  speech  disorders,  as  shown  in  the 
studies  of  Dr.  Hartwell.  Dr.  Hartwell's  tables  of  the  specific 
intensity  of  life  show  that,  while  from  the  age  of  seven  to 
twelve  there  is  generally  a  rapid  increase  in  immunity  from 
disease,  yet  at  the  age  of  eight  to  nine,  for  girls,  there  is  a 
lessened  rate  of  increase,  and  at  the  age  of  nine  to  ten.,  for 
l)oys,  there  is  an  actual  drop  in  specific  intensity  of  life.  On 
the  whole  it  is  a  weak  period,  a  period  of  transition,  which 
Bryan  considers  as  important  as  the  dawn  of  puberty. 

The  regression  noted  in  this  period  King  thinks  is  appar- 
ent rather  than  real,  that  it  is  a  period  of  readjustment  rather 
than  one  of  regression.  Interest  now  is  shifting  from  the 
activity  itself  to  the  end  accomplished,  and  the  cliihl  lias 
come  to  a  realization  of  the  need  of  a  radical  change  in  his 
adjustments,  physical  and  psychical.  He  soon  finds  that 
his  powers  for  accomplishing  are  far  behind  his  ideals, 
and  he  is  bewildered  and  thrown  back  upon  himself,  halt- 
ing, as  it  were,  until  the  new  adjustments  are  working 
more  smoothly. 

In  this  period  the  reasonmg  powers  are  still  weak,  the 
understanding  seeming  to  be  best  aided  through  suggestion 
and  analogies.  The  questioning  interest  continues;  memory 
is  strengthening.  Imitation  is  perhaps  less  prominent  than 
before,  but  the  child  is  still  very  susceptible  to  imitation  and 
suggestion.    Tlie  child  now,  however,  imitates  the  idea  rather 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD  73 

than  the  thing.  Imagination  continues  very  active  and  begins 
to  be  of  a  creative  type,  but  related  more  to  the  facts  and 
needs  of  life.  The  animistic  tendency  so  strong  in  the  previ- 
ous period  is  weakening. 

The  predominance  of  the  sensory  and  motor  in  the  psychic 
life  of  the  child  still  continues  and  gives  color  to  the  play 
and  game  mterests  of  the  period.  The  senses  are  practically 
perfected  and  sensory  interest  continues  very  strong,  while 
the  motor  activity  is  even  greater  than  before.  But  the  interest 
in  motor  activity  is  now  shifting,  as  mentioned  above,  from 
mterest  in  activity  to  interest  in  result.  The  child  no  longer 
simply  drives  nails  into  the  soil  or  a  board, — he  tries  to  make 
something.  He  does  not  simply  romp  and  run,  —  he  plays 
a  game.  Details  of  motor  activity  are  coming  into  prominence, 
and  interest  in  skill  is  developing.  With  the  child's  conscious- 
ness of  increasing  power  and  skill,  awakens  interest  in  compe- 
tition. Therefore  he  begins  to  play  games,  that  is,  to  play 
according  to  form  and  rule  with  other  children,  whereas 
before  his  play  was  largely  free,  informal,  unorganized  activ- 
ity. The  child  is  not  yet  able  to  coordinate  his  activity  with 
that  of  others,  and  there  are  as  yet  no  truly  cooperative  games. 
In  many  games  of  this  period  sides  are  not  chosen,  each  child 
playmg  for  himself;  but  even  when  sides  are  chosen,  the  play 
remains  for  the  most  part  individualistic.  There  is  now 
approaching  culmination  in  interest  in  traditional  games, 
games  of  chase,  and  doll  pla}'.  Interest  continues  high  in 
common  objects  as  toys,  and  in  dramatic  and  representative 
play.  Interest  is  very  strong  in  collections.  The  constructive 
interest  is  centering  upon  the  thing  made.  The  child's  ambi- 
tion is  often  quite  beyond  his  skill,  but  his  efforts  are  worthy 
of  respect   and   encouragement.    There   is  a  strong  general 


74 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  A:^D  GAMES 


interest  in  nature,  plants,  animals,  pets,  and  in  exploring. 
Kline  finds  at  this  age  a  third  runaway  period.  In  this  period 
we  find  the  tendency  to  play  with  other  children  increasing,  and 
the  cliild  is  not  quite  so  selfish.  With  the  development  of 
the  formal  game  interest  we  find  an  increasing  regard  for  law. 
A  tendency  to  tease  and  bully  is  common  in  children  of  this 
period,  and  is  due  perhaps  to  a  sense   of  increasing  power 


Building  the  Cabin 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

and  the  desire  to  exercise  it.  Interest  still  holds  in  fair}' 
tales  and  folklore,  but  towards  the  close  of  the  period  inter- 
est in  narrative  history  begins. 

This  is,  then,  essentially  a  transition  period.  There  is  a 
general  shifting  all  along  the  line, —  in  the  growth  of  the 
nervous  system,  in  rate  of  bodily  growth,  in  the  circulatory 
system,  in  dentition,  in  diseases,  in  interest.  It  seems  to  be  a 
special  office  of  this  period,  after  having  perfected  the  senses, 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD  75 

to  hegin  to  develop  the  finer  coordinations  of  motor  activity 
with  sense  judgments.  To  this  end  the  sliifting  of  the  inter- 
est from  activity  to  the  result  of  the  activity  is  helpful,  in 
that  it  necessitates  the  development  of  skill.  The  plays  and 
games  of  this  period  must  involve  motor  activity  of  infinite 
variety,  but  with  definite  purpose  and  interest  in  tlie  outcome. 
We  see  here  the  value  of  simple  competitive  games,  traditional 


The  Cabin 

Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

games,  games  of  chase,  constructive  play,  with  an  infinitude 
of  common  objects  and  with  toys ;  we  also  see  the  value  of 
dramatic  and  representative  play,  and  of  doll  play,  of  which 
latter  Dr.  Hall  says,  "The  number  of  motor  activities  that  are 
both  inspired  and  unified  by  this  form  of  play,  and  that  can 
always  be  given  wholesome  direction,  is  almost  incredible  and 
has  been  too  long  neglected  both  by  psychologists  and  teachers." 


76  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Nature  does  not  at  any  time  deal  with  a  section  of  the  cliild, 
but  always  with  the  whole  child.  She  but  places  the  emphasis 
differently  at  different  periods.  The  emphasis  peculiar  to  this 
period  we  have  already  pointed  out.  We  must  not  fail,  how- 
ever, to  mention  those  other  plays  which  mvolve  the  develop- 
ing powers  of  the  child  m  every  direction, — games  iuvolvuig 
experimentation  of  the  mental  powers,  attention,  observation, 
imagination,  reasoning,  memory,  trial  of  the  senses,  number  in- 
terest, collecting,  nature  interests  of  great  variety,  drawing,  lan- 
guage plays,  story  interest,  music,  rhythm,  and  dancing, — all  of 
which  have  their  special  value  at  this  time  of  life  and  are  to  be 
found  suggested  in  the  Course  of  Plays  and  Games  for  this  period. 

Period  Four  (Aces  10-12).  This  is  the  most  important 
period  in  elementary  education  so  far  as  the  details  of  scliool 
work  and  the  formation  of  habits  are  concerned.  The  body  is 
not  growing  so  rapidly,  the  brain  has  practically  ceased  grow- 
ing, and  there  is  not  the  great  functional  advance  which  is  to 
accompany  the  advent  of  puberty  in  the  period  following. 
There  is  a  lull  in  the  demands  upon  the  system,  —  it  is  a 
time  of  storing  iip  of  energy.  There  is  less  liability  to  dis- 
ease. The  specific  intensity  of  life  culminates  in  boys  at  from 
twelve  to  thirteen  years,  and  in  girls  at  from  eleven  to  twelve. 
The  heart  is  gaining  in  proportionate  size  and  strength  as 
compared  to  the  size  of  the  arteries,  and  there  is  less  liability 
to  fatigue  than  in  the  previous  period.  The  child  is  at  the 
height  of  physical  activity.  More  games  are  played  now 
than  at  any  otlier  age. 

In  the  nervous  system,  while  the  brain  has  practically 
ceased  growing  in  weight  it  is  clianging  rapidly  in  structural 
deveh^pment.  According  to  Clouston,  the  special  import  of 
this  period  in  the  nervous  system   is  the  coordination  of 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD 


7T 


muscular  action  and  the  senses.  The  coordinations  begun  in 
the  previous  period,  but  not  developed  to  the  point  of  fine 
adjustments,  are  now  given  depth  and  scope.  This  is  the  time 
when  there  must  be  laid  the  foundations  of  any  future  great 
skill.  Skill  in  games,  in  manipulation,  in  the  use  of  tools,  in 
the  playing  of  musical  instruments,  correctness  and  facility 
in  pronunciation  of  foreign  languages,  cannot  be  so  surely 


A   1'mvi;i;sai.   1'a>si<)\ 

acquired  if  delayed  beyond  this  period.    It  is  therefore  the 
period  for  drill  and  the  forming  of  neuro-muscular  habits. 

Reasoning  remains  comparatively  weak  throughout  this 
period,  but  is  slowly  strengthening.  A  tendency  to  critical 
judgment  is  appearing.  The  perceptive  powers  continue 
active,  and  the  child  is  capable  of  close  observation.  It  is 
still  an  eye  and  ear  period.  Memory  is  likewise  strengthening, 
particularly  memory  for  ol)jects  and  their  names.  Imagina- 
tion is  active,  suggesting  here  the  value  of  objects  and  pictures 


78  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

for  illustration.  The  animistic  tendency  is  disappearing  and 
superstitions  are  decreasing.  The  child  is  quite  susceptible  to 
suggestion,  but  he  is  influenced  more  by  companions  than 
by  adults.  He  is  never  so  removed  from  grown-ups  as  in  this 
period.  He  is  still  selfish  and  self-assertive,  yet  gaining  in 
social  interest.  He  begins  to  form  societies  or  clubs  largely 
for  games,  athletics,  and  predatory  expeditions  ;  but  he  unites 
with  others  rather  for  his  own  profit.  In  the  cooperative 
games  the  individualistic  element  still  remains  prominent. 
There  is  an  increased  regard  for  rule  and  law. 

In  the  matter  of  games,  interest  in  running  games  is  cul- 
minating. There  is  taking  place  a  shifting  of  interest  from 
games  which  are  not  cooperative  to  games  which  are  coopera- 
tive. Interest  in  collections  is  at  its  height.  The  methods  of 
collecting  are  by  finding  and,  in  this  period  increasingly,  by 
trading  and  buying.  In  nature,  interest  in  pets,  particularly 
in  dogs  and  in  the  training  of  dogs,  is  rapidly  increasing,  reach- 
ing culmination  in  the  next  period.  Interest  in  nature  collec- 
tions is  high.  Ch'eat  interest  in  dolls  is  continuing.  In  drawing, 
interest  centers  upon  action  aud  the  representation  of  one  or 
two  details,  leaving  the  others  in  a  jumble.  The  drawings  are 
symbolic  rather  than  correct  representations.  In  construc- 
tion, interest  increases  in  the  details  and  skill  of  workman- 
ship. In  literature  the  dominant  interest  of  the  boy  is  shown 
in  preference  for  action  and  adventure.  There  is  added  inter- 
est in  history,  in  historical  biography,  and  in  general  litera- 
ture. The  general  puzzle  interest  culminates  in  mechanical 
puzzles  at  eleven  years  of  age,  in  geometrical  ])uzzles  at  from 
twelve  to  thirteen. 

The  games  and  ])lays of  tliis  period  will  be  of  great  number 
aud  variety,  involving  great  activity,  considerable  skill,  often 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD 


79 


some  cooperatiou,  and  will  tend  to  further  the  development  of 
the  finer  motor  adjustments  and  the  coordination  of  muscular 
action  with  sense  judgments,  which  it  is  the  special  office  of 
this  period  to  develop.  They  will  also  involve  all  the  develop- 
ing powers  of  the  child,  each  peculiar  need  of  the  boy  and  girl 
being  met  by  the  emphasis  upon  this  or  that  feature  of  the 


Preparing  for  War 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Trumbull 

activity  which  the  awakening  interests  will  determine.  The 
Course  of  Plays  and  Games  for  this  period  endeavors  to  sug- 
gest such  plays  and  games. 

Period  Five.  (Ages  13-15).  Just  as  there  was  at  about 
the  age  of  eight  or  nine  a  period  of  readjustment  of  motor 
ideals,  so  at  about  twelve,  the  last  year  of  the  previous  period, 
there  is  a  time  of  halting,  uncertainty,  and  readjustment  of 


80  EDUCATIOX  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

social  ideals.  We  are  now  at  the  threshold  of  a  new  birth,  a 
new  conception  of  life  and  of  the  use  of  powers. 

This  is  the  period  of  most  rapid  bodily  growth.  The  heart 
increases  rapidly  in  size  relative  to  the  blood  vessels,  and  there 
is  a  marked  increase  in  blood  pressure.  There  is  also  a  rapid 
increase  in  lung  and  chest  capacity,  in  strength  of  grip  of 
hand,  and  in  control  of  accessory  muscles.  The  sexual  organs 
are  developing  rapidly.  While  the  brain  is  not  perceptibly 
increasing  in  weight,  there  is  a  rapid  structural  change  and 
accelerated  development  of  association  fibers.  It  is  the  period 
of  greatest  tendency  to  nervous  disorders,  and  there  is  an 
increased  liability  to  disease. 

This  is  the  time  of  the  most  rapid  development  of  the 
heart  and  emotions.  Love,  pity,  fear,  anger,  jealousy,  emula- 
tion, ambition,  have  a  new  awakening.  There  is  frequently 
great  emotional  instability.  Anger  and  pugnacity  increase ; 
sympathy  increases.  There  is  periodic  laziness,  awkwardness, 
self-consciousness,  tendency  to  reverie,  dreams  of  greatness, 
self-assertion.  There  is  a  tendency  to  affectation  and  manner- 
isms, to  slang,  to  desire  to  show  off,  to  f reakislniess  and  pranks. 

There  comes  now  a  new  tendency  to  imitation  and  sug- 
gestion. There  is  a  shifting  of  susceptibility  to  influence  of 
companions  to  susceptibility  to  influence  of  adult  ideals 
and  example.  There  is  a  striking  increase  in  susceptibility 
to  religious  influence;  also  the  greatest  liability  to  incorri- 
v  gibility,  misdemeanors,  and  crime.  There  is  a  desire  to  leave 
home,  yet  susceptibility  to  homesickness.  There  is  a  keen 
sense  of  humor,  a  tendency  to  practical  joking,  great  sensi- 
tiveness to  praise,  censure,  or  ridicule. 

There  is  now  an  increased  tendency  to  rudimentary  organi- 
zations, gangs,  and  clubs,  and  great  interest  in  competitiv^e 


THE  PERIODS  OF  CHILDHOOD 


81 


and  cooperative  games ;  also  in  the  taking  and  giving  of 
stumps.  The  circle  of  favorite  games  is  narrowing,  and  sex 
differences  become  prominent.  There  is  great  admiration  for 
physical  prowess,  hero  worship,  love  of  adventure,  and  love  of 
hunting  and  camping. 

Eeasoning  is  strengthening.  There  is  on  the  whole  less 
liability  to  errors  in  reasoning.  The  memory  is  increased  and 
the  imagination  is  very  active.    The  general  reading  interest 


War 

Photograph  by  C.  A.  Putnam 

is  at  its  height.  A  genuine  historic  interest  appears ;  also 
interest  in  drama.  The  collection  interest  gains  m  definite- 
ness  and  permanency.  There  is  great  interest  in  nature  and  the 
traming  of  animals.  There  is  an  increase  in  the  regard  for 
money  and  in  trading.  The  puzzle  mterest  involves  mainly 
language  and  arithmetical  puzzles.  There  is  an  increased 
interest  in  music  and  in  rhythm. 

The  environment  in  this  period,  then,  should  furnish  oppor- 
tmiity  for  games  and  plays  involving  great  physical  activity 


82  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

and  adapted  to  develop  the  large  inuscle  areas,  to  continue 
the  dexelopment  of  the  finer  motor  adjustments,  and  to  relate 
individual  activity  to  a  social  group.  These  plays  should 
develop  the  manly  qualities,  —  courage,  generosity,  staying 
power,  and  social  consciousness.  The  increased  interest  along 
the  many  lines  mentioned  above  should  be  a  means  for  sup- 
plying many  varied  activities  tending  to  direct  the  attention 
and  interests  without  rather  than  witliin,  relieving  the  pecuHar 
and  often  morbid  emotional  tendencies  of  this  time.  The  nar- 
rowing circle  and  increased  intensity  of  interest  make  this  a 
favorable  time  for  fixing  permanent  interests  in  some  line,  — 
in  athletics,  nature,  science,  literature,  music,  or  art.  The  fol- 
lowing Course  of  Plays  and  Girames  is  intended  to  suggest  such 
activities  and  the  peculiar  emphasis  to  be  laid  upon  each ;  also 
to  suggest  many  games  involving  the  peculiar  activity  needed 
by  the  developing  mental  powers  at  this  time. 


Part  II 

A  SUGGESTIVE  COURSE  OF  PLAYS 
AND  GAMES 

PERIOD  ONE  (Ages  0-3) 

Essential  characteristics.  The  essential  characteristics  of 
this  period  are  the  devek)pment  of  the  senses,  rajjid  brain 
growth,  getting  control  of  the  fundamental  movements  of 
the  hody  and  its  members,,  the  development  of  speech,  and 
imitation. 

Apparatus  and  toys.  The  apparatus  and  toys  of  special 
interest  include  common  objects,  such  as  smooth  stones,  sticks, 
spools,  keys,  spoons,  tin  dishes ;  bright  objects  suspended  to 
attract  sight,  objects  suspended  above  the  cradle  to  mduce 
reaching,  a  bell  or  some  other  bright  object  sewed  to  the  stock- 
ing to  induce  pulling,  paper  suspended  above  the  feet  to  induce 
kicking ;  soft,  hard,  smooth,  rough,  light,  heavy,  warm,  cold, 
objects  ;  a  celluloid  ball,  rubljer  animals,  boxes,  nest  of  boxes, 
Ijottles,  blocks,  etc. ;  harmonica,  trumpet,  whistle,  bell ;  flag ; 
rocking-horses,  seat  swing;  dolls;  cart,  doll  carriage;  toy  fur- 
niture ;  linen  picture  books ;  paper  and  crayon ;  slide,  —  a 
smooth  board  waxed  and  rubbed,  having  one  end  placed  on 
a  chair  or  box,  on  to  which  the  child  may  chmb  and  slide 
down  the  board ;  outdoor  sand  pile,  iron  spoon,  shovel,  tin 
cans,  pail,  sand  forms,  cart ;  indoor  sand  box. 

83 


8-± 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


First  plays  of  infancy.  These  include  free  bodily  move- 
ments (unhampered  by  clothing);  handling  of  the  body  and 
common  objects ;  experimenting  with  the  sense  of  touch, 
with  temperature,  taste,  smell,  hearing,  sight ;  mussing  paper. 


Exploring 

rattling  keys,  pounding  with  a  spoon ;  rolling  on  the  bed  or 
on  a  blanket  on  the  floor ;  climbing  off  the  bed  or  off  chairs ; 
creeping ;  climbing  downstairs,  upstairs,  on  chairs,  and  the 
like ;  walking ;  exploring  room,  house,  yard ;  imitation  of 
movements  and  sounds. 

Later  plays  of  infancy.  These  include  continued  experi- 
menting with  the  senses  and  motor  apparatus;  free  motor 
plays,  like  running,  clinil)ing,  swinging,  rocking,  pushing, 
dragging,  drawing,  and  tlie  like ;   free  play  with  toys  and 


PERIOD  ONE 


85 


with  common  objects  used  as  toys ;  exploring ;  simple  con- 
structive play  with  blocks,  digging  in  the  sand,  mud  play; 
imitative  plays,  such  as  direct  imitation  of  acts  and  words  of 
adults ;  doll  play ;  marking ;  listening  to  music  and  singing. 


A  CiTv  Sand  Pile 

attempts  at  singing ;  Mother  Goose  plays ;  counting ;  repeti- 
tion and  rhythm. 

The  games  and  mother  plays  adapted  to  this  age  include 
such  as  Peekaboo ;  This  Little  Pig  Went  to  Market ;  Brow- 
bender  ;  Creep,  Mouse ;  Here  is  the  Church ;  Kicking ;  Falluig  ; 
Tick-Tack  ;  Pat-a-Cake  ;  Wash  the  Lady's  Dishes  ;  Eide  a  Cock- 
horse ;  Trot,  Trot,  to  Boston,  and  other  Mother  Goose  rhymes  ; 
Chase ;  Hide  and  Whoop  ;  Dance  and  Smg ;  Marching ;  Eing-a- 
Eing,  Eosie  ;  and  finger  plays. 


PERIOD  TWO  (Ages  4-6) 

Essential  characteristics.  The  essential  characteristics  of 
this  period  are  continued  rapid  brain  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  senses ;  accumulation  of  sense  perceptions  ;  per- 
fecting the  control  of  the  fundamental  movements  and  of  the 
speech  organs ;  great  physical  activity,  the  interest  centering 


An  Old-Time  Tlav 


in  the  activity  rather  than  in  the  result ;  imitation,  particu- 
larly of  adults  and  adult  occupations;  active  imagination, 
dramatic  and  representative  play  ;  interest  in  toys  ;  doll  play; 
play  which  is  individualistic  rather  than  social ;  curiosity  and 
questioning  ;  guessing ;  construction ;  collecting  and  hoarding 
of  trivial  objects ;  beginnings  of  graphic  representation  and 
musical  interest ;  story  interest ;  spontaneous  coimting. 

86 


PERIOD  TWO 


87 


Apparatus  and  toys.  The  apparatus  and  toys  of  special 
interest  include  the  following :  outdoor  sand  pile,  shovels, 
sand  forms,  tin  cans,  blocks,  stones,  and  other  miscellaneous 
materials,  as  boards,  boxes,  sticks, 
spools,  dowels,  twigs,  etc. ;  carts, 
reins,  wdiips ;  climbing  tree  or 
ladder ;  slide  (such  as  a  smooth, 
waxed  board,  with  climbing 
mount) ;  single-pole  swing ;  see- 
saw ;  parallel  rails  (2  by  4  joists, 
mounted  a  few  mches  from  the 
ground,  for  balanced  walking  and 
running) ;  elevated  rail  or  fence  ; 
jumping  hole,  filled  with  sawdust, 
straw,  or  other  soft  material ;  doll 
house,  improvised  by  children  out 
of  dry-goods  box,  or  made  by  older 
children  or  carpenter ;  dolls ;  doll 
carriage,  go-carts ;  toy  furniture, 
strong  and  durable  as  possible  ;* 
chairs,  tables,  beds,  hammocks, 
bureaus,  tubs,  rub  boards,  flat- 
irons,  brooms,  stove,  kitchen 
dishes,  tea  sets,  etc. ;  toy  animals, 
toy  circus ;  harmonica,  trumpet, 
drum,  flag,  toy  sword  ;  l)alls,  bean 
bags ;  windmills ;  engine,  train  of 
cars ;  wheelbai-row,  rake,  hoe,  watering  pot ;  indoor  sand  box  ; 
building  blocks;  scissors,  paste;  sewmg  cards  and  sewing 
material ;  beads  ;  clay  for  modelmg  ;  pencils  and  paper ;  cray- 
ons or  paints  ;  pictures  and  picture  books. 


Tossing 
Photograph  hy  F.  E.  Brouson 


88 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


In  this  connection  should  be  mentioned  the  use  of  school 
play  rooms.  The  following  account  of  such  a  room  is  suggestive. 

For  children  of  this  period  indoor  play  rooms  are  desirable  at  any 
season  of  the  year,  but  essential  in  the  winter  months.  I  have  in 
mind  a  play  room  in  a  country  village  of  perhaps  a  thousand  people. 
This  village  is  a  suburb  of  one  of  the  larger  cities  of  Massachusetts. 
The  people  are  uniformly  in  humble  circumstances,  the  majority 


A  Plav-Rooji  Gkoup 
Photograph  by  M.  Barnes 

being  of  the  mill  operative  class  and  foreign  born.  The  one  scliool 
of  the  village,  enrolling  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  children,  has  a 
first-grade  room,  in  which  there  are  fifty-six  or  eight  children,  about 
half  of  whom,  on  the  first  day  of  school,  had  not  enough  command 
of  English  to  understand  the  simple  directions  of  the  teacher.  Some 
of  these  children  were  scarcely  more  than  babies,  and  fell  asleep  in 
their  seats  by  the  dozen.  Across  the  hallway  from  this  room  an  un- 
used room  has  been  converted  into  a  play  room.  The  room  contains 
two  sand  piles,  a  swing,  a  smooth  board  slide,  a  doll  liouse,  house- 
hold furniture,  cart,  doll  carriage,  dolls,  blocks,  balls,  picture  books, 


PERIOD  TWO 


89 


sliced  pictures,  toy  soldiers,  toy  animals,  toy  circus,  and  other  things. 
For  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  the  children  have  been  turned, 
about  sixteen  at  a  time,  into  this  room,  by  the  single  teacher  in 
charge,  the  door  closed,  and  the  children  left  entirely  to  their  own 
devices.  Here  they  play  ha2)pily  and  freely.  The  marvel  of  it  in- 
creases ;  for,  after  all  these  months,  the  teacher  has  yet  to  find  the 
first  case  of  quarreling,  noisy  disorder,  or  abuse  of  toys  or  apparatus. 


A  Pl,AY-K()t)M   CoUNEK 

Photograph  by  M.  Barnes 

We  parents  of  three  or  four  scrappy,  well-brought-up  children,  of 
ages  not  permitting  a  social  ensemble  in  their  household  play,  may 
have  much  to  learn  of  the  socializing  power  of  a  play  room  sup- 
plying- the  right  plays  and  toys  to  a  group  of  children  of  a  uniform 
stage  of  development  and  with  similar  play  ideals.  Other  teachers  of 
this  school  have  attempted,  with  poor  success,  to  utilize  the  play  room 
for  older  cliildren  without  first  adapting  the  environment  to  the  age 
of  the  children.    The  expense  of  this  ]ilay  room  has  been  less  than 


90 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


thirty  dollars  a  year.    It  has  made  it  possible  to  care  for  the  first-grade 
cliildren  without  employing  an  assistant  teacher,  thereby  saving  the 

town  several  hundred  dol- 
lars since  it  was  opened. 


Free,  active  plays. 

These  include  such  activ- 
ities as  running,  rolling, 
sliding,  climbing,  wrest- 
ling, pushing,  pulling, 
lifting,  hauling,  drawmg, 
jumping,  digging,  throw- 
ing, tossing,  catching, 
etc.,  and  experimenting 
with  the  body  and  the 
senses. 


Comrades 


Imitative  and  dramatic  plays.  These  include  such  plays 
as  dolls,  house,  store,  ccniductor,  horse,  bear,  Indians,  fire- 
men, blacksmith,  school,  doctor,  circus,  soldiers,  and  the  like. 

Constructive  plays. 
These  include  such  activi- 
ties as  playing  m  a  sand 
pile,  clay  modeling,  build- 
ing with  blocks,  sewing, 
improvising  liouses,  trains, 
stone  fences,  dens,  etc., 
with  miscellaneous  mate- 
rial; cutting  free-hand,  cut- 
ting out  pictures,  pasting; 
stringing  beads;  parquetry. 

Collecting  and  hoarding 
plays.    These  include  the  i'KEuiNCi  mi:  iiunguv 


PERIOD  TWO 


91 


collecting  of  colored  paper,  ribbons,  buttons,  pictures,  and 
miscellaneous  knickknacks ;  picking  flowers,  gathering  nuts, 
picking  berries,  collecting 
leaves,  and  the  hke. 

Nature  plays.  The 
nature  interest  finds  ex- 
pression in  field  excur- 
sions ;  in  watcliing  birds 
and  other  animals  ;  in  ex- 
ploring ;  in  picuickmg  ;  in 
camping  with  their  elders. 
The  planting  of  seeds, 
transplanting  of  flowers, 
watering  and  caring  for 
flower  beds,  and  the  feeding  of  pets  may  be  entered  upon 
incidentally  in  this  period,  l)ut  the  children  are  not  yet 
ready    for   responsibility    in    the    care    of   flowers    or   pets. 


School-Yard  Gaaies 


f 

: 

1    -^ 

i 

m 

UUTUOOR  KiNUEKGAUTEN  GaMES 


Drawing  plays.  These  include  spontaneous  drawings  on 
the  blackboard  ;  drawing  with  pencil  on  paper ;  coloring  pic- 
tures with  crayons  or  paints ;  tracing  pictures  on  the  black- 
board, on  slates,  or  on  paper. 


92 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMP:S 


Fkee  J'i,av  in  the  Kinpergarten 


Music  plays.    These  have  to  do  with  singmg  and  listenhig 
to  music,  with  rhythmical  movements,  motion  songs,  finger 


lflla.ii,« 

i 

I 

KlNDERGAKXEN    GaMES    ON   A   UeCKEATION    I'lEK 

plays.    Among  the  finger  plays  should  be  mentioned  All  for 
Baby;  The  Lam]»s;  The  Hens  and  Chickens  ;  The  Pigs;  The 


PERIOD  TWO  93 

Mice ;  The  Squirrel ;  The  Sparrows ;  The  Caterpillar ;  The 
Little  Men;  The  Little  Plant;  The  Mill;  Making  Bread; 
Making  Butter ;  Mrs.  Pussy's  Dinner ;  The  Counting  Lesson  ; 
Santa  Claus.^ 

Story  interest.  This  is  manifested  in  hearing  and  telling 
stories. 

Guess  games  and  riddles.  Among  these  should  be  men- 
tioned the  very  simple,  original  guess  games  of  children  and 
the  Mother  Goose  riddles. 

Formal  games.  Formal  games  in  this  period  are  rarely 
entered  upon  except  through  the  leadership  of  elders.  Some 
of  the  games  played  hy  children  of  this  age  are  games  of 
chasing  and  tag,  Hide  and  Whoop,  Hide  and  Seek,  Drop  the 
Handkerchief,  Cat  and  Mouse ;  also  some  of  the  traditional 
smging  games,  many  of  which  have  been  revised  by  kinder- 
garteuers.  For  a  description  of  these  games  see  tlie  follow- 
ing period.  Some  of  the  sense  games  described  on  pagee 
1  30-132  may  be  utilized  in  this  period. 

1  See  Finger  Plays,  by  Emilie  Poulssou, 


PERIOD  THREE  (Ages  7-9) 

Essential  characteristics.  It  should  be  noted  first  of  aU 
that  this  is  a  transition  period.  In  general,  it  is  a  period  of 
slow  physical  development,  including  a  period  of  regression, 
with  tendency  to  heart  weakness  and  fatigue,  due  perhaps 


An  Artificial  Slide 


to  increased  demands  u}H)n  the  heart  in  excess  of  heart  mus- 
cle, and  to  the  disturbance  of  nutrition  accompanying  loss  of 
teeth  preceding  second  dentition.  There  is  a  transition  from 
susceptibility  to  child  diseases  to  susceptibility  to  adult  dis- 
eases. ISTow  comes  the  close  of  the  period  of  rapid  brain  growth, 
(at  about  eight).    There  is  increased  liability  to  stuttering  and 

04 


PERIOD  THREE  95 

mental  dullness.  There  is  a  transition  from  interest  in  the  con- 
trol of  the  body  and  in  activity  for  its  own  sake  to  interest 
in  the  control  of  environment  and  in  activity  for  the  end's 
sake.  It  is  a  period  of  development  of  motor  coordinations 
and  sense  judgments.  The  elements  of  skill  and  competition 
appear  in  the  play.  The  games  are  individualistic  rather  than 
cooperative.    There  is  a  disinclination  to  try  unless  assured  of 


Fire  Company  a\vaitin(;  tiii:  jVi.aum 
Photograph  hy  C.  A.  Putnam 

success,  and  a  sensitiveness  in  failure.  There  is  an  approach- 
ing culmination  of  interest  in  traditional  games,  games  of 
chase,  and  doll  play.  Interest  is  strong  in  collections,  crude 
construction,  and  in  nature. 

Apparatus  and  toys.  The  apparatus  and  toys  that  should 
be  provided  are  such  as  sand  pile ;  seesaw  ;  pole  s^ving ;  sus- 
pended iron  rings ;  climbing  rope ;  climbmg  tree ;  climbing 
ladder ;  tilting  ladder ;  board  slide  ;  swinging  rings ;  trolley 


96 


EDUCATION  BY   PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


FlRE-ENGiNE    lioKhlih 

Photograph  by  C.  A.  Putnam 


slkle  ;  jumping  pit,  filled  with 
sawdust,  straw,  or  other  soft 
material ;  stilts ;  garden,  carts, 
wheelbarrows,  shovels,  rakes, 
hoes;  balls,  bean  bags,  ring- 
toss,  tenpins;  bows  and 
arrows  ;  express  carts  ;  jump 
ropes,  reins,  whips  ;  kites  ; 
playhouse,  made  by  older 
boys ;  doll  house,  made  by 
children  or  carpenter ;  boxes, 
boards,  and  other  miscellane- 
ous material;  aquarium,  fisli 
nets,  insect  nets ;  pets  ;  drum, 
fife,  flag,  toy  swords,  wooden 
guns ;  improvised  fire  engine,  hose  cart,  etc. 

Free,  active  plays.  The  joy  of  mere  physical  activity  of 
the  previous  period  continues  in  this  one  along  certain  lines, 
largely  combined  with  the  joy  of  motion.  The  environment 
should  provide  opportun- 
ity for  climbmg,  running, 
jumping,  balancing,  swing- 
ing, teetering,  tumbling, 
wrestling,  sliding,  skating, 
swimming.  Swimming 
should  be  included  in  the 
pastimes  of  both  boys  and 
girls  as  early  as  this  period, 
but  under  proper  over- 
sight. Where  swimming 
pools  are  wanting  the  I'laving  Stork 


PERIOD  thrp:e 


97 


ponds,  streams,  or  nearest  seashore  should  be  utilized.  There 
is  scarcely  a  town  in  New  England  that  has  not  sufficient 
natural    advantages    to    make    the   teacliing    of    swimming 


Fkee-Hand  C'tTTiN"(;  i$Y  A  Bov  OF  Seven 
Kinchiess  of  Dr.  William  H.  Burnliam 

practicable  to  nearly  all  boys  and  girls.  Participation  in 
skatmg,  coasting,  and  other  winter  sports  should  be  heartily 
encouraged.  Where  there  are  not  natural  skating  and  coast- 
ing places  for  the  children  artificial  ones  should  be  provided. 

Dramatic  and  imitative  plays.  Tliese 
plays  can  be  gi\'en  no  description  here. 
They  are  infinite  in  variety  and  number 
and  fill  a  much  larger  place  in  the  play 
life  of  children  of  this  age  than  do  the 
more  formal  games.  Suggestion  may  be 
taken  from  a  mention  of  some  of  these 
plays.  They  include  such  plays  as  fire- 
men, expressmen,  conductors,  soldiers, 
Indians,  cowboys,  store,  school,  house, 
doll  play  of  infinite  variety,  traveling,  calling,  party  ;  in  short, 
imitation  of  nearly  every  occupation  or  custom  known  to  chil- 
dren.   These  plays  are  of  very  great  importance  educationally. 


98 


EDUCATION  BY  FLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Not  much  should  be  attempted  iu  the  way  of  direction,  but 
through  environment,  and  by  means  of  an  adequate  supply  of 
toys  and  apparatus  of  the  kinds  mentioned  above,  these  plays 
may  be  suggested  and  made  to  work  out  their  service  for  the 
children.  The  dramatic  interest  may  be  utilized  in  a  some- 
what definite  way  in  school  work,  as  will  be  suggested  later. 
Constructive  plays.  In  his  constructive  play  the  child  of 
this  period  is  no  longer  satisfied  with  the   mere  activity  of 


Basket  Weaving 
Photograph  hy  C.  S.  Moore 

constructing,  as  was  largely  the  case  in  the  previous  period ; 
but  he  desires  to  make  things  for  the  sake  of  having  them 
and  using  them.  However,  he  is  not  yet  interested  in  the 
details  of  workmanship  as  he  will  be  in  the  next  period. 
Crude  work  may  be  expected,  but  the  attempt  is  of  great 
value.  The  objects  made  should  be,  for  the  most  part,  things 
that  will  be  used,  particularly  toys. 

The  constructive  play  of  this  period  will  be  manifested  in 
large,  crude  work,  as  in  the  building  of  huts,  wigwams,  tents. 


PERIOD  THREE 


99 


playhouses,  tree  platforms,  stone  ovens,  etc.,  involving  l)uild- 
ing  with  crude  material  rather  than  making  over  material ; 
m  sand-pile  aud  sand-bank  play,  the  digging  of  caves,  build- 
ing of  roads,  stone  walls,  dams,  waterways,  water  wheels,  and 
rafts ;  in  simple  bench  work  and  whittling,  as  in  making 
crude  toys,  kites,  carts,  sleds,  spool  machinery,  bows,  arrows, 
traps,  snares,  quill  popguns,  suckers,  willow  wdiistles,  and  the 
like;  in  making  paper  dolls  and  dresses,  free-hand  cutting. 


Cat  and  Mouse 


picture  cutting,  pasting ;  m  paper  and  cardboard  construc- 
tion, as  in  making  paper  boxes,  doll  houses,  toy  furniture,  wind- 
mills, darts,  fans,  etc.  Sucli  occupations  as  the  following  may 
be  included :  rattan  and  raffia  weaving ;  knitting ;  rug  weav- 
ing ;  knotting  and  looping  cord,  as  in  making  reins,  bags, 
chains,  belts,  baskets,  etc. ;  sewing,  as  of  doll  clothing,  marble 
bags,  bean  bags  ;  doll  millinery  ;  crocheting ;  play  cooking. 

Games  of  chasing,  hunting,  throwing,  shooting.  These 
games  are  of  special  interest  at  this  period,  and  are  adapted 
to  the  peculiar  physical  needs  at  this  time.  They  introduce 
competition,  skill,  and  such  exploitation  of  powers  as  tends  to 


100  EDUCATION   BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

aid  the  development  of  iiner  motor  adjustments  and  of  the 
coordination  of  muscular  action  with  sense  judgments  wliich 
begin  to  appear  at  this  time.  The  following  are  represent- 
ative games  of  this  class  : 

Cat  and  Mouse.  The  mouse  is  inside,  the  cat  outside  the 
circle.  Children  circle  round,  hindering,  with  lowered  arms, 
the  cat  from  getting  in  or  out,  but  with  raised  arms  allowmg 
the  mouse  to  pass  freely  out  or  in. 

Hide  and  Seek,  or  I  Spy.  Children  count  out  to  see  who 
wnll  be  "  it."  The  one  who  is  "  it "  blinds  at  some  goal  until 
he  has  counted  one  hundred,  or  some  number  agreed  upon. 
Meantime  the  rest  run  and  hide.  When  the  blinder  discov- 
ers one  in   hiding,  he  runs  and  touches  his  goal,  saying, 

"  I  spy ."    If  the  one  who  was  hiding  touches  the  goal 

first,  he  is  safe.  The  hiders  run  in  whenever  they  thmk  they 
can  do  so  safely.  When  all  are  in,  the  first  one  caught  must 
be  "it."    The  following  are  common  counting-out  rhymes. 

Intevy,  inintery,  cutery,  corn, 

Apple  seed,  briar  thorn,  ^ 

*^  .  Eeny,  nieeny,  niona,  luv, 

Wire,  briar,  limber  lock, 


Barcelona,  bona,  stry. 
Three  a^eese  in  a  flock  :  t-      i    n    i     i  \^ 

"  Kay  bell,  broken  well, 

One  flew  east,  one  flew  west, 

One  flew  over  the  cuckoo's  nest 

0-u-t,  out ! 


We,  wo,  wack. 


Puss  in  the  Corner.  Each  puss  chooses  a  corner  or  goal, 
except  the  one  who  is  "  it."  Those  who  have  corners  try  to 
change  places.  If  the  one  who  is  "  it "  succeeds  in  getting 
one  of  the  corners  before  the  exchange  is  completed,  the 
one  who  is  left  without  a  corner  must  be  "  it." 

Witch  in  the  Jar.  The  witch  has  jars  marked  out  on  the 
ground.    When  any  one  ventures  near  she  gives  chase  and 


PERIOD  THREE    •  101 

when  she  catches  any  one  she  puts  hun  in  the  jar  to  stay 
until  all  are  caught. 

Tommy  Tiddler's  Ground.  A  space  is  marked  off  as 
Tommy  Tiddler's  ground.  One  is  counted  out  as  Tommy 
Tiddler.  The  others  run  into  Tommy's  territory,  shouting, 
"  I  am  on  Tommy  Tiddler's  ground,  stealing  gold  and  sil- 
ver." If  any  one  is  tagged  while  in  Tommy's  territory,  he 
becomes  Tommy  Tiddler.  This  is  also  called  Dixie's  Land 
and  Kiag's  Land. 

Come  with  Me.  Children  stand  in  a  circle.  One  runs 
around  the  circle  and  touches  some  one  on  the  back,  saying, 
"  Come  with  me ! "  The  two  run  in  opposite  directions, 
llpon  meeting  they  take  hold  of  hands,  swing  once  around, 
and  then  race  for  the  vacant  place. 

Drop  the  Handkerchief.  Children  stand  in  a  circle.  One 
runs  round  with  handkerchief  in  hand,  dropping  it  at  some 
one's  heels.  The  one  at  whose  feet  it  is  dropped  must  pick 
it  up  and  give  chase,  attempting  to  catch  the  runner  before 
he  can  get  to  the  vacant  place  in  the  ring.  In  the  school- 
room the  handkerchief  may  be  dropped  upon  the  desk. 

Have  you  seen  my  Sheep  ?  In  this  game  the  player  out- 
side the  circle  touches  some  one  on  the  back  and  says,  "  Have 
you  seen  my  sheep  ? "  to  which  the  other  replies,  "  How  was 
he  dressed  ? "  The  first  then  replies  by  describing  the  dress 
of  some  player,  who,  when  he  recognizes  himself,  must  run 
around  the  circle  and  try  to  regain  his  place  without  being 
tagged,  as  in  Drop  the  Handkerchief. 

Gypsy.  Gypsy  charges  her  daughters  to  stay  at  home  and 
be  good.  While  she  is  away  the  daughters  run  and  hide.  The 
gypsy  must  find  them  all.  The  first  one  found  and  caught 
must  be  gypsy. 


102 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


House  Hiring.  Childreu  stand  in  a  circle,  the  house  hirer 
inside.  Wliile  he  is  seeking  for  a  house  two  get  ready,  and 
when  he  is  not  looking  they  exchange  places.  If  any  one  is 
caught  changing  his  place,  he  must  be  house  hirer.  Some- 
times the  children  are  numbered,  and  when  the  one  who  is 
"  it "  calls  out  two  numbers,  tlie  children  bearmg  those  num- 
bers must  change  places  without  being  caught. 

The  Boiler  Burst.  A  circle  is  formed  about  one  who  tells 
some  story  in  which  finally  occur  the  words,  "the  boiler 
burst."  At  these  words  all  rush  for  some  given  line  or  goal. 
The  last  one  reachmg  it  must  be  the  next  story-teller. 

Hawk  and  Chickens.  The  hawk  circles  round  the  feed- 
ing ground  and  suddenly  swoops  down  upon  the  chickens. 

If  any  one  is  caught  on 
the  feeding  ground,  that 
one  must  be  the  hawk. 

Sheijhcrdess  and  Wolf. 
The  shepherdess  stands 
with  all  her  sheep  in  line 
behind  her,  each  with 
arms  around  the  waist 
of  the  child  ahead  of  her. 
The  wolf  stands  in  front, 
facing  the  shepherdess. 
He  jumps  about  to  catch 
a  slieej),  but  the  sliep- 
herdess  endeavors  to  head  liim  off,  holding  out  hands  and 
turning  to  face  him,  while  the  sheep  swing  in  behind  her. 
This  is  a  good,  lively  game  for  limited  space. 

Tag.  The  following  are  some  common  forms  of  tag  for  this 
period :  Tag,  in  which  there  is  no  goal  or  formality,  the  one 


Tag 


PERIOD  THREE 


103 


tagged  becoming  "it" ;  Squat  Tag,  in  which  the  children  stand 
in  a  circle,  or  without  any  particular  restriction,  and  in  which 
no  one  may  be  tagged  while  squatting ;  Wood  Tag,  or  Stone 
Tag,  in  which  a  player  may  not  be  tagged  while  touching 
wood  or  stone ;  Goal  Tag,  in  which  certain  goals  are  chosen 
where  one  may  not  be  tagged  ;  Whip  Tag,  in  which  a  knotted 
handkerchief,  strap,  or  switch  may  be  used  in  tagging. 

Stealing  Sticks.    The  chaser  has  a  territory  agreed  upon  in 
which  a  certain  number  of  sticks  are  scattered  about.    The 


lIiLL  Dill 


object  is  to  steal  all  his  sticks  before  he  catches  any  one,  in 
which  case  he  must  be  catcher  again.  If  any  one  is  caught, 
that  one  must  be  catcher. 

Lame  Goose.  This  is  similar  to  Tommy  Tiddler's  Ground, 
only  the  chaser  must  hop  after  three  steps  are  taken,  instead 
of  running,  and  whoever  is  tagged  becomes  a  lame  goose  until 
all  are  caught.  If  a  goose  puts  both  feet  on  the  ground  when 
outside  his  den,  he  may  be  driven  to  his  den  by  all  the 
other  players.    The  first  one  caught  is  "  it." 

Hill  Dill  {Peel  Aumy,  or  Pom  Pom,  Pull  Away).  The  ground 
is  marked  off  by  two  lines  into  tln-ee  sections,  the  middle  one 
being  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet  wide.    The 


104  EDUCATION  BY  TLAYS  AND  GAMES 

catcher  stands  in  one  outer  section,  the  rest  in  the  other. 
The  chaser  calls,  "Hill,  dill,  come  over  the  hill,  or  I'll  come 
over  after  you."  He  then  tries  to  tag  the  players  as  they  run 
across  the  middle  section.  Whoever  is  tagged  must  be  a  tagger 
also.  The  call  and  the  chase  continue  until  all  are  caught. 
The  first  one  tagged  becomes  "  it  "  in  the  new  game.  This  game 
is  much  played  in  the  next  period  also,  and  gi'eat  skill  m  dodg- 
ing and  escaping  a  multitude  of  pursuers  is  often  developed, 
a  skill  greatly  prized  in  back-of-the-Hne  men  in  football. 

Dare  Base.  In  this  game  a  Hne  is  drawn  midway  between 
the  goals.  A  catcher  stands  at  each  end  of  this  line.  The 
other  players  run  back  and  forth  between  the  goals;  they 
may  not  be  tagged  when  in  the  goals  or  on  the  base  hue, 
but  they  may  not  pass  back  to  the  goal  from  which  they 
started  until  they  have  gained  the  opposite  goal.  Those  who 
are  caught  are  put  out  of  the  game,  or  they  may  be  made 
catchers,  as  in  Hill  Dill. 

Bound  Hands.  This  is  similar  to  Hill  Dill,  except  that  as 
soon  as  a  runner  is  tagged  he  joins  hands  with  the  tagger 
and  they  give  chase  together,  each  new  one  tagged  joining 
the  line,,  until  all  are  caught. 

Run,  Sheep,  Run  Sides  are  chosen.  One  side  remains  by 
the  goal  while  the  other  goes  away  and  hides.  The  captain  of 
the  hiding  side  returns  and  marks  on  the  ground  the  zigzag 
course  which  his  sheep  took  in  going  to  their  hiding  places. 
As  the  hunting  party  searches,  the  captain  of  the  side  in 
hiding  makes  known  to  his  sheep  the  whereabouts  of  the 
hunters  by  means  of  secret  cries  previously  agreed  upon.  At 
the  opportune  moment  he  cries,  "IJun,  sheep,  run,"  at  which 
all  tlie  sheep  break  for  the  goal.  If  the  hunters  discover  the 
sheep  before  they  run  and  can  get  a  man  to  the  goal  first,  or 


PERIOD  THREE  XD6 

if  they  succeed  in  getting  a  man  to  the  goal  before  any  of 
the  sheep  get  there  after  the  cry,  "  Pain,  sheep,  run,"  is  given, 
the  hunters  become  the  sheep,  otherwise  the  same  sheep  go 
out  again. 

Fast  Runners.  This  game  is  also  called  Last  Pair,  Pass. 
The  players  are  arranged  in  pairs,  all  facing  the  same  way. 
One  is  at  the  head,  back  to  the  rest.  He  calls  out  some  sig- 
nal, at  which  the  last  couple  in  the  line  run  towards  the 
front  on  opposite  sides  of  the  line  and  try  to  join  hands 
beyond  the  catcher  without  being  tagged.  If  one  is  tagged, 
he  becomes  catcher,  the  other  two  standing  as  the  first  pair 
in  the  line.  If  the  runners  succeed  in  joining  hands  without 
bemg  tagged,  the  catcher  is  obliged  to  try  again. 

Follow  the  Leader.  One  is  chosen  leader  whom  all  the 
rest  must  follow  in  line,  doing  all  that  the  leader  does.  An 
ingenious  and  daring  leader  can  make  this  a  very  interesting 
and  valuable  game. 

Five  Geese  in  a  Flock.  Geese  sit  in  a  row.  A  market  woman 
comes  along  and  repeats  the  counting-out  rhyme,  "  Interv, 
mintery,  cutery,  corn,"  etc.  At  the  last  syllable  the  geese 
jump  up  and  run,  the  market  woman  giving  chase.  The 
one  caught  must  l)e  market  woman. 

Flack  Man.  One  is  counted  out  as  Black  Man.  The  rest 
come  round,  crying,  "  Who  is  afraid  of  the  Black  Man  ? " 
Suddenly  the  Black  Man  gives  chase.  Wlien  one  is  caught 
he  becomes  Black  Man.  Sometimes  the  one  caught  joins 
hands  with  the  first  Black  Man  antl  they  give  chase  together, 
the  next  one  caught  joining  with  them,  and  so  on  until  all 
are  caught.  In  this  case  tlu^  runners  usually  are  made  to 
cross  a  certain  definite  territory.  It  is  then  similar  to  the 
game  of  Bound  Hands. 


106 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Huntsman.  One  is  chosen  as  huntsman  and  the  others 
represent  parts  of  the  hunter's  equipment.  The  desks  are 
chalked  so  as  to  leave  one  seat  less  than  the  number  of  chil- 
dren. The  huntsman  marches  about  the  room,  through  thf 
aisles,  calling  for  each  part  of  his  equipment.  As  he  names 
each  part,  the  child  representing  it  takes  fast  hold  of  the  one 


wmaoL     M 

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Hoop  Rack 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 


aliead  of  him  in  the  line,  the  hunter  being  the  head.  At  tlie 
word, "  Bang,"  all  rush  for  a  seat.  The  one  left  out,  pays  a  forfeit. 

Going  to  Jerusalem.  The  desks  are  chalked  so  as  to  leave 
one  less  than  the  numl)er  of  children.  The  children  march 
about  the  room  to  music  or  singing  in  unison.  As  the  signal 
is  given,  or  tlie  music  st()])S,  all  rush  for  their  seats.  The  one 
left  without  a  seat  may  be  made  to  pay  a  forfeit. 

Rolling  Hoop.  Any  h()0[)  of  convenient  size  may  be  used. 
The  lioop  is  driven  by  tapping  it  repeatedly  with  a  stick,  the 


PERIOD  THREE  107 

child  running  alongside  and  guiding  it  as  necessary.  Con- 
siderable skill  may  be  developed. 

Hoop  Race.  Eacers  start  at  a  given  signal,  driving  their 
hoops  to  a  given  goal. 

Encounters.  Sides  are  chosen.  The  players  start  from 
opposite  sides  of  the  playground,  rolling  their  hoops  at  the 
opposing  side  and  endeavoring  to  tip  over  their  opponents' 
hoops  by  driving  their  own  over  them.  When  a  hoop  is  down 
for  any  reason  the  player  is  out. 

Posting,  or  Relay  Race.  The  course  is  marked  out  and 
drivers  stationed  at  certain  intervals.  The  driver  is  changed 
at  each  station. 

Turnpikes.  Half  are  pike  keepers  and  half  roll  the  hoops. 
Turnpikes  are  made  of  two  stones  or  bricks  a  few  inches 
apart, '  placed  at  regular  intervals  around  a  large  circle  or 
along  the  road.  The  rollers  must  roll  their  hoops  between 
the  stones  without  touching  them.  Whoever  misses,  must 
change  places  with  the  -pike  keeper. 

Catch  Ball.  Use  a  soft  ball  or  bean  bag.  Children  stand  in 
rows  or  in  a  circle.  The  leader  tosses  the  ball  to  each  in  turn, 
or  he  tosses  it  in  the  air  and  calls  the  name  or  number  of 
some  one  to  catch  it.    The  game  may  be  greatly  varied. 

Circle  Ball.  A  ball  or  bean  bag  is  passed  quickly  around 
a  circle  by  handmg,  passing  over  the  head,  or  by  tossing. 
Vary.    See  variation  of  Hunt  the  Slipper,  page  120. 

Balloon  Ball.  Use  a  large,  light  ball.  Children  play  singly, 
in  pairs,  in  groups,  in  rows,  or  in  a  circle.  Alternate  rolling, 
tossing,  throwing,  kicking,  with  right  hand,  left  hand,  both 
hands,  right  foot,  left  foot.  Also  keep  the  ball  in  the  air  by 
batting  upward  with  the  hand  until  a  ndss  is  made,  or  keep 
it  bouncmg  by  batting  it  downward  against  the  floor.    Vary. 


108  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

School  Ball.  Use  a  soft  ball.  Count  out  for  turns.  No.  1 
retains  the  ball  as  long  as  he  can  catch  it  in  accord  with  the 
rules.  When  he  misses  he  must  step  five  paces  away  and 
let  No.  2  throw  the  ball  at  his  back.  If  No.  2  misses,  he 
loses  his  turn  and  gives  the  ball  to  No.  3,  who  proceeds 
as  No.  1.  (1)  Throw  up  with  one  hand,  catch  with  both ; 
(2)  throw  with  both,  catch  with  both ;  (3)  throw  with  botli, 
catch  with  one ;  (4)  throw  with  one,  catch  with  the  other ; 
(5)  throw  to  the  groimd  and  catch  on  the  bounce,  in  the 
different  ways ;  (7)  bat  upward  before  catching ;  (8)  throw 
upward,  and  before  catching  {a)  clap  hands,  (b)  bow  once,  (c) 
kneel  once,  {d)  jump  in  the  air,  (e)  jump  forward,  (/)  jump 
backward,  {g)  kneel  to  the  right,  (It)  kneel  to  the  left.  The 
game  may  be  greatly  varied.    Use  originality. 

Pots.  In  this  game  the  ball  is  thrown  against  a  wall  and 
caught  in  the  different  ways. 

Days  of  the  Week.  Each  child  takes  the  name  of  some  day. 
One  throws  the  ball  against  the  walLand  calls  out,  "Monday!" 
or  some  other  day.  The  one  representing  the  day  catches  the 
ball.  If  he  misses,  the  others  must  scamper  away  before  he 
has  time  to  throw  the  ball  and  hit  one  of  them.  Whoever 
misses,  or  is  hit,  loses  a  point. 

One  Old  Cat.  This  is  a  game  of  ball  with  one  base  and 
one  batsman,  a  pitcher,  a  catcher,  and  the  rest  fielders.  To 
start  a  game,  one  cries,  "  One  old  cat,  my  first  bat."  The 
others  cry,  "Pitcher,"  "Catcher,"  "First  fielder,"  "Second 
fielder,"  and  so  on,  until  all  have  a  place.  The  batsman  is  out 
if  a  fly  is  caught,  if  a  foul  is  caught  on  the  fly  or  on  the  first 
bounce,  or  if  a  third  strike  is  caught.  A  niulfed  third  strike 
gives  the  batsman  three  strikes  more.  When  tht'  batsman  is 
out  each  player  moves  up,  that  is,  catcher  becomes  batsman, 


PERIOD  THREE 


109 


pitcher  becomes  catcher,  first  fielder  becomes  pitcher,  aud 
so  on.  The  batsman  takes  the  last  place  in  the  field. 

Two  Old  Cat.  In  this  game  are  two  bases  and  two  base- 
men. A  batsman  may  be  put  out  in  running  bases  accord- 
ing to  the  usual  rule  in  baseball. 

Bound  Ball.  In  this  game  there  are  the  usual  number  of 
bases  aud  basemen.  There  may  be  three  or  more  batters,  as 
desired.  In  "  movmg  up  "  after  a  man  is  put  out,  shortstop 
ranks  next  to  pitcher,  first  baseman  next  to  shortstop,  and 
so  on.  When  a  soft  ball  is  used  "  spottmgs,"  or  throwing  baU 
at  a  base  runner,  is  some- 
times allowed.  In  other 
particulars  the  usual 
rules  govern. 

Fun  (JO.  A  batter 
knocks  flies  or  ground- 
ers to  the  other  players. 
Whoever  catches  a  fly  or 

stops  tliree  grounders  becomes  batter.    This  game  is  usually 
started  by  some  one's  crying,  "  Fungo,  first  hand  in." 

Baschall.  Boys  of  this  period  often  attempt  the  game  of 
baseball,  usually  with  extemporized  sides,  sometimes  with  boy- 
ishly organized  nines.  These  attempts  need  be  neither  encour- 
aged nor  discouraged.    Let  them  take  care  of  themselves. 

Football.  Kicking  and  passing  football.  A  game  of  Eush 
is  often  played  by  boys  of  this  period.  They  may  use  a  foot- 
ball, or  the  football  may  be  represented,  as  it  most  commonly 
is,  l)y  a  cap,  a  stick,  or  anything  conveniently  at  hand. 
Iliree,  four,  five,  any  number  of  boys  may  play  the  game. 
What  was  said  of  baseball  just  above  may  be  said  here 
pf  football. 


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110 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Faba  Gaba,  or  Bean-Bag  Game.  Place  a  wastebasket  at 
a  suitable  distance.  Three  bags  are  tossed  or  thrown,  one 
after  the  other,  at  the  basket.  The  one  who  gets  the  largest 
number  of  bags  into  the  wastebasket  in  a  given  number  of 
trials,  wins.  The  bags  may  be  tossed  at  a  chair  or  at  three 
concentric  rings  marked  on  the  ground  or  floor ;  or  holes  of 


Faba  Gaba 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

different  sizes  may  be  sawed  in  a  board  and  the  bags  tossed 
through  the  holes,  more  points  being  scored  by  tossing 
through  a  smaller  hole  than  through  a  larger  one.  Some- 
times three  scjuare  boxes  are  fastened  together,  the  smallest 
within  the  next  larger  and  that  within  the  largest,  a  margin 
between  the  l)()xes  being  left  according  to  size  of  bags  used. 
Throwing  into  the  largest  box  counts  one,  into  the  middle 


PERIOD  THREE 


111 


box  two,  and  iiito  the  smallest  box  three.     The  bags  ought 
to  weigh  not  less  than  half  a  pound. 

Ringtoss.  Eings  can  easily  be  made  of  rattan  or  rope. 
They  should  be  seven  in  number,  although  three  or  four  will 
do,  the  smallest  about  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  the  next 
in  size  just  large  enough  to  let  the  smallest  pass  through  it, 
and  so  on.  The  stake  may  be  made  by  driving  a  dow^el  or 
other  stick  tightly  into  a  hole  bored  in  the  middle  of  a  board 
sixteen  or  eighteen  inches  square.  The  rings  should  be  tossed 
in  order  of  size,  beginning  with  the  largest.  Einging  the  stake 
with  the  largest  counts 
one,  with  the  second  two, 
and  so  on.  Play  individ- 
ually or  by  sides. 

Tenpins.  Anything 
from  clothespins  to  small 
Indian  clubs  may  be 
used  as  pins.  When 
played  indoors,  hard  rub- 
ber balls  may  be  used. 
The  pins  are  set  up  in  the  form  of  an  equilateral  triangle, 
according  to  the  usual  custom,  and  bowled  at  from  any  suit- 
able distance.  Score  should  be  kept  according  to  the  usual 
method  in  bowling.    Play  with  or  without  sides. 

Archery.  Boys  of  this  age  can  make  their  own  crude 
bows  and  arrows. 

Games  of  experimentation.  These  games  include  (1) 
miscellaneous  active  games,  involving  mainly  trial  of  bodily 
strength,  quickness,  and  skill ;  (2)  miscellaneous  intellectual 
games,  involving  mainly  trial  of  mental  powers,  attention, 
observation,  imagination,  and  memory,  and  occasionally  of 


King  TO 


112 


EDUCATION   BY  PLAYS  AND   GAMES 


self-control.  They  are  generally  played  under  the  spur  of  emu- 
lation. Some  of  the  best  of  the  active  games  are  the  following. 
Jump  Bope.  This  familiar  sport  for  girls  has  many  varia- 
tions. It  may  be  made  a  most  valuable  form  of  exercise,  but 
excessive  rope  jumping  should  be  guarded  against  in  the  case 
of  children  from  about  seven  to  about  nine  years  of  age,  on 
account  of  the  danger  of  heart  weakness.    Many  excellent 


Tenpins  on  the  School-Yakd  Duiveway 


exercises  for  individual  or  group  play  may  be  devised  by  the 
teacher,  but  the  children  should  be  encouraged  to  originate 
exercises  for  themselves. 

C'lLsMon  Dance.  A  circle  is  formed  about  a  cushion  or  other 
object.  All  take' hold  of  hands  and  each  tries  to  pull  another 
against  the  cushion.    Whoever  touches  the  cushion  is  out. 

Sail  the  Ship.  Two,  or  four,  two  by  two,  take  hold  of 
hands  and  swing  swiftly  round  on  the  toes.  The  one  who 
loses  hold  or  falls,  is  out. 


rERIOD  THREE 


113 


Charlie  Occr  tlic  Wafer.  The  children  form  a  circle,  one 
child  being  in  the  center.  The  children  circle  about,  singing, 
•'  Charlie  over  the  water,  Charlie  over  the  sea,  Charlie  catch 
a  blackbird,  can't  catch  me."  At  the  last  word  all  stoop,  but 
if  one  is  tagged  before  stooping  he  nmst  change  places 
with  Charlie. 

Wind  up  the  Faggot.  The  children  form  a  line  with  a 
large  child  at  the  head.  Holding  hands,  the  players  wind 
slowly  about  the  head  child  as  a  pivot,  singing,  "  Wind  up  the 
bush  faggot,  and  wind  it  up  tight ;  wind  it  all  day  and  wind 
it  all  night,"  until  all  are  wound  up  tight.  Then  all  sing, 
"  Stir  up  the  dumplings,  the  pot  l)oils  over,"  singing  faster  and 
faster  and  jumpmg  up  and  down,  kee]> 
ing  time,  until  all  are  in  a  general  mix-up. 

Hop  Scotch.  This 
game  is  greatly 
varied.  A  diagram 
similar  to  one  of 
those  given  here  is 
scratched  on  the 
ground  or  marked 
on  the  floor  or  pave- 
ment. A  mark  is 
made  at  a  suitable 
distance  from  the 
figure.  Standing  at  this  mark,  the  first  player  tosses  a  stone 
into  space  No.  1.  He  must  then  step  into  tllis  space  accord- 
ing to  the  prescribed  method,  and,  while  standing  on  one 
foot,  kick  the  stone  out  towards  the  mark  from  which  it 
was  tossed.  If  successful,  he  steps  back  and  tries  in  a  similar 
wa>  for  space  No.  2,  and  so  on  thi'ough  all  the  spaces,  always 


/^ 

13 

■~^- 

10 

11 

9 

0 

8 

X 

5 

< 

4 

3 

1 

114 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


stepping  back  in  reverse  order.  If  he  misses,  the  next  player 
tries.  When  a  player's  turn  conies  again  he  begins  where  he 
left  off  in  the  previous  trial.  The  one  who  makes  all  the 
divisions  first  wms. 

Jacksto7ies.  This  familiar  game  is  played  with  five  pebbles 
or  bits  of  iron  called  jackstones.  It  consists  in  tossing  and 
catching  the  stones  in  various  ways.  All  are  tossed  upward 
and  caught  on  back  of  hand.  One  is  thrown  up  while  the 
other  four  are  scattered  on  the  ground,  the  first  being  caught 

as  it  descends.  This, 
called  the  Jack,  is 
tlirown  in  the  air  and 
caught,  one  stone  bemg 
picked  up  between  each 
toss  and  catch,  until  all 
four  are  in  the  hand ;  so 
with  two,  with  three, 
with  four.  Similarly  the 
stones  are  laid  down. 
They  are  laid  in  line  and 
the  finger  traces  in  and  out  among  them  while  the  Jack  is 
in  the  air.  Some  other  tricks  are  called  setting  the  table,  peas 
in  the  pod,  putting  horses  in  the  stable,  chimney,  cradle,  cart. 
MumUe  the  Peg  or  Knife.  This  is  played  with  a  pocket- 
knife.  The  game  consists  in  throwing  the  knife  in  various 
ways  so  that  the  blade  will  stick  into  the  ground,  as  tossing 
the  knife  from  the  palm,  from  the  back  of  the  hand,  from 
closed  fingers ;  by  holding  the  tip  of  the  blade,  at  the  same 
time  touchuig  the  handle  to  chin,  to  lips,  to  nose,  to  forehead ; 
closing  arms,  one  hand  holding  the  lobe  of  the  ear,  throwing 
over  the  head,  skipping,  etc.  The  player  first  gettuig  success- 
fully through  the  series  wins.     The  last  one  through  pays 


Jackstones 


PERIOD  THREE 


115 


a  forfeit,  which  usually  has  been  the  pulling  of  a  peg  out  of 
the  ground  by  the  teeth,  the  peg  being  driven  into  the  ground 
by  a  certain  number  of  taps  of  the  knife,  the  number  having 
been  previously  agreed  upon. 

Marbles.  This  ancient  and  perennial  game  has  many  varia- 
tions. Some  forms  require  considerable  skill,  but  the  game  as 
commonly  played  in  tiiis  generation  has  unfortunately  greatly 
degenerated. 

Humpty  Duinpty.  Girls  sit  and  gather  their  skirts  about 
crossed  feet,  repeating  some  rhyme,  as  "  G is  sick  and 


An  (  )i,ii-Fasiih)m;i)  (jame  of  Marbles 


hke  to  die ;  all  she  needs  is  a  huckleberry  pie."  At  the  last 
word  all  go  over  backward,  rocking  back  and  forth  four  times 
without  letting  go  skirts  or  using  feet. 

Honey  Pots.  One  child  is  a  honey  merchant  and  one  is  a 
purchaser.  The  rest  are  honey  pots  and  squat  with  hands 
clasped  under  the  knees.  The  merchant  and  the  purchaser 
take  each  pot  by  the  arms  and  swing  it.  If  the  honey  pot 
breaks  its  hold,  the  honey  is  poor. 


116  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Hojpping  Dance.  The  players  clasp  hands  under  the  knees 
and  follow  the  leader  or  dance  to  music. 

Feather  Game.  All  stand  in  a  circle  and  keep  a  feather  or 
milkweed  seed  floating  in  the  air  by  blowing  upward.  This 
is  sometimes  played  with  sides,  each  side  trying  to  keep  the 
seed  from  fallmg  in  its  territory. 

Egg  Polo.  Two  goals  are  marked  out  on  a  smooth  table 
and  sides  are  chosen.  An  eggshell  from  which  the  yolk  has 
been  blown  is  placed  in  the  center  of  the  table.  At  the  signal 
each  side  tries  to  ])l()w  the  shell  througli  tlie  opponent's  goal. 


Meal  Timk 
Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Trumbull 

Bird  Catcher.  The  children  sit  in  a  circle,  one  child  stand- 
ins  in  the  middle.  Each  takes  the  name  of  some  bird.  The 
teax?,hjer  or  leader  tells  or  reads  a  story,  bringing  in  the  names 


PERIOD  THREE  117 

of  the  birds.  At  the  mention  of  his  name  each  one  must 
raise  his  hands  and  bring  them  down  quickly.  At  mention 
of  the  owl  all  place  hands  behind  the  back,  holding  them 
there  until  another  bird  is  mentioned.    The  catcher  endeavors 


Pkts 
Photograph  by  S.  Weaver 

to  catch  a  hand  whenever  one  is  moved.  When  a  player  does 
the  wrong  thing,  or  has  one  of  his  hands  caught,  he  must 
change  places  with  the  one  in  the  center  or  -pay  a  forfeit. 

Fisherman.  The  fisherman  ties  a  string  to  a  stick  and 
makes  a  slip  loop  at  the  other  end.  The  loop  is  placed  in  the 
center  of  the  table.  At  the  words  "  Your  fish ! "  each  must 
put  his  finger  within  the  loop.  At  the  words  "  My  fish  !  "  the 
fingers  must  be  quickly  withdrawn,  or  the  fisherman,  by  a 
sudden  jerk,  will  snare  them.  When  a  player  is  caught  he 
becomes  fisherman. 


118  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Bookbinder.  The  playei's  stand  iii  a  circle  with  arms 
extended  in  front,  a  book  resting  on  the  back  of  the  hands. 
A  player  in  the  center  attempts,  by  feints  and  quickness,  to 
raise  the  book  and  strike  the  hands  before  they  are  withdrawn. 
Hands  cannot  be  withdrawn  until  the  book  is  lifted.  The 
game  may  be  played  without  the  books,  the  hands  being 
stretched  out.  When  the  one  in  the  center  attempts  to  hit 
the  hands,  the  players  may  bend  the  wrists  or  move  the  hands 
sidewise,  but  may  not  withdraw  them.  Whoever  is  hit  must 
change  places  with  the  one  in  the  center. 

Pantomime  School.  A  good  leader  is  chosen,  who  places 
the  rest  in  a  row  and  takes  his  stand  in  front,  doing  "  stunts," 
which  the  rest  must  attempt  to  do,  such  as  the  following: 
hold  the  hands  outstretched  and  move  the  mdex  lingers 
sidewise  back  and  forth  without  moving  the  other  three ; 
open  the  fingers  between  the  middle  and  ring  fingers,  the 
others  not  being  separated ;  move  the  little  fingers  sidewise 
without  moving  the  others ;  rotate  the  hands,  one  in  one 
direction,  the  other  in  the  other ;  pat  the  head  with  one 
hand  and  rub  the  chest  with  the  other;  twirl  the  thumbs, 
one  in  one  direction  the  other  in  the  opposite  direction  ;  place 
the  hands  on  the  hips  and  touch  the  elbows  behind  the  back ; 
wiggle  the  ears ;  move  the  tip  of  the  nose  like  a  sheep. 
When  a  player  misses  he  must  move  down  a  place  towards 
the  foot  of  the  line.  The  one  remaining  at  the  foot  when  the 
game  is  over  may  be  made  to  pay  a  forfeit. 

Cat's  Cradle.  This  familiar  play  has  many  forms  which 
cannot  well  be  described  here.  An  important  feature  is  the 
invention  of  new  figures  or  tricks  by  the  children.  Tlie  author 
lias  noted  many  such  figures  invented  by  boys.  The  following 
cut  illustrates  some  of  the  figures  found  among  the  Indians. 


String  Figures  ^ 

l,two  boys  carryiiiii  spears;  2,  two  women  fightiiiij  with  sticks;  3,  four 
boys  walking  in  a  row  and  holding  each  other's  liands;  4,  two  men 
walking  down  a  valley;  5,  man  climbing  a  tree;  (i,  kangaroo;  7  and 
8,  a  pouch ;  9,  a  spear 

f  From  Strinff  Fir/ures,  or-  Cats'  Cradle  hi  Many  Lands,  by  Caroline  Furness 
Jayne.    Published  by  Charles  Scribner's  Sons. 


120  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Intery  Mintcry.  All  place  the  forefinger  on  the  leader's 
knee.  The  leader  repeats  a  coiintmg-out  rhyme,  touching 
a  finger  at  each  syllable.  The  finger  upon  which  the  last 
syllable  falls  nuist  be  instantly  withdrawn  or  it  will  receive 
a  rap. 

Queen  Dido  is  Dead.  The  players  stand  in  a  circle  or  row. 
One  starts  the  game  by  saying  to  her  right-hand  neighboi', 
"Queen  Dido  is  dead."  The  neighbor  inquires,  "How  did 
she  die  ?  "  The  first  answers,  "  She  died  doing  so."  and  begins 
shaking  her  right  hand,  which  she  continues  to  shake  all 
through  the  game.  The  one  on  her  right  now  addresses  her 
neighbor  m  the  same  manner,  and  so  the  game  goes  on  until 
all  in  the  line  are  shaking  right  hands.  The  one  who  started 
the  game,  while  continuing  to  shake  her  right  hand,  takes 
up  the  conversation  again,  choosing  a  new  movement,  as  shak- 
ing the  left  hand.  This  motion  is  passed  on  in  similar  manner 
along  the  line,  a  new  movement  being  added  at  each  circuit, 
until  all  are  tired  with  shaki'ig  hands,  stamping  feet,  nodding 
heads,  or  laughing.  If  preferred,  a  new  motion  may  be  chosen 
by  each  player  as  it  comes  her  turn. 

Hunt  the  Slipper.  The  players  stand  or  sit  in  a  circle. 
Some  object  (which  formerly  was  usually  a  slipper)  not  too 
large  is  passed  quickly  and  as  slyly  as  possible  around  the 
circle.  One  player,  in  the  center,  tries  to  catch  sight  of  it  in 
some  one's  possession.  If  he  can  do  so  and  quickly  name  the 
player  who  has  it,  that  player  must  change  places  with  him. 
The  game  may  be  modified  by  using  a  ball.  The  ball  is  tossed 
about  the  circle,  the  one  in  the  center  trying  to  catch  it.  If 
successful,  the  one  who  threw  it  changes  places  with  him ; 
or  if  he  can  toucli  it  while  it  is  in  any  one's  possession,  that 
one  must  change  places  with  liiTu. 


Taming  a  Partridge 
Photograph  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 


121 


122  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Hiint  the  Ring.  In  tliis  game  the  object  sought  is  a  rmg 
strung  on  a  string,  wliich  the  children  hold  in  their  hands  as 
they  stand  m  a  circle.  The  ring  is  slyly  slipped  along  from 
hand  to  hand.  When  the  ring  is  discovered  in  a  player's  pos- 
session, he  must  change  places  with  the  one  in  the  center. 

Paddy  from  Home.  This  is  like  the  above  game,  only  each 
player  in  the  circle  represents  a  station  on  some  chosen  line 
of  railroad.    Paddy  is  in  the  center.    All  sing : 

Paddy  from  home  has  never  been, 
A  railway  train  he  's  never  seen. 
He  longs  to  see  the  great  machine 
And  travel  along  the  railway. 

When  Paddy  sees  the  ring  he  must  call  correctly  the  name 
of  the  station  where  it  is.  If  correct,  the  child  representing 
that  station  must  become  Paddy. 

Blind  Man's  Buff.  A  circle  is  formed  with  a  blindfolded 
child  in  the  center.  The  players  forming  the  circle  move 
steadily  around  the  one  Vyifolded  until  he  gives  a  signal 
to  stop.  He  then  points  a  wand  or  finger  at  some  part  of  the 
circle.  The  player  who  happens  to  be  pointed  at  takes  his 
place  within  the  circle,  and  the  blindfolded  player  tries  to 
catch  him.  If  successful,  he  must  guess  whom  he  has  caught. 
If  the  guess  is  correct,  the  one  caught  becomes  the  blmd 
man ;  otherwise  he  takes  his  place  again  in  the  ring  and  tlie 
game  proceeds  as  before. 

French  Blind  Man's  Buff.  In  this  game  the  child  pointed 
at  must  answer  some  question.  The  blind  man  must  guess 
who  answers. 

Ruth  and  Jacoh.  A  girl  is  chosen  to  be  Ruth,  or  a  boy  to 
be  Jacol).  Tlie  one  chosen  is  l)lindfolded,  turned  around  sev- 
eral times,  and  left  in  tlie  center  of  the  circle.     If  a  girl  is 


PERIOD  THREE 


123 


chosen,  she  must  then  step  forward  and  touch  some  hoy,  who 
takes  his  place  in  the  circle.  Euth  then  calls,  "  Where  art 
thou,  Jacob  ? "  and  Jacob  answers,  "  Here."  As  often  as  Euth 
calls,  Jacob  must  answer.    Guided  by  his  voice,  Euth  gives 


GlKL    AND    rAHTKlDGE  ^ — FRIENDSHIP    NOT    FuLLY    ESTABLISHED 

Photograph  hy  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 

chase.  When  Jacob  is  caught,  Euth  must  identify  him.  If 
she  fails,  she  must  try  another  boy ;  if  she  succeeds,  Jacob 
must  be  blindfolded  and  choose  some  girl. 

Still  Pond,  No  More  Moving.  In  tliis  game  one  child  is  bUnd- 
folded  and  placed  in  the  center  of  the  playground  while  the 


124  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

others  scatter  about.  After  a  short  time  the  one  blindfolded 
cries, "  Still  pond,  no  more  moving."  All  must  then  stand  still, 
or  move  not  more  than  a  certain  number  of  steps,  say  ten  or 
twenty,  according  to  the  size  of  the  playground,  in  the  endeavor 
to  escape  the  one  who  is  blindfolded.  When  the  one  blmd- 
folded  succeeds  in  catching  a  player,  he  must  guess  who  it  is 
or  let  him  go.  If  he  guesses  right  the  one  caught  must  be 
"  it."  There  are  many  variations  of  these  blindfolding  games, 
some  of  which  may  be  easily  adapted  to  the  schoolroom. 

Among  the  games  involving  mainly  trial  of  the  mental 
powers  the  following  should  be  described. 

Birds  Fly.    The  leader  cries,  " fly  !  "  naming  any  bird 

or  animal,  and  at  the  same  time  holding  up  his  hands.  The 
others  hold  up  tlieir  hands  only  in  case  a  flying  bird  is 
mentioned.    Whoever  misses,  is  out. 

Hold  Fast  a)id  Let  Go.  Four  children  hold  the  corners  of 
a  handkerchief.  A  fifth  cries,  "  Hold  fast,"  or  "  Let  go."  In 
each  case  the  opposite  must  be  done.  Whoever  does  the 
wrong  thing  must  change  places  with  the  fifth. 

Simon  says,  "  Thumbs  Up."  One  is  chosen  as  Simon.  He 
holds  his  fists  clenched,  with  thumbs  pointing  upward,  and 
cries  in  quick  succession, "  Simon  says, '  Thumbs  up,'  "  "  Simon 
says 'Thumbs  down,'  "  "  Simon  says,  '  Thumbs  wiggle  waggle,'" 
suiting  the  action  to  the  word.  The  rest  must  do  just  what 
Simon  says,  but  if  the  word  "  Simon  "  is  omitted  by  the 
leader,  the  players  must  keep  the  hands  perfectly  still.  Who- 
ever does  the  wrong  thing  must  pay  a  forfeit. 

Cotitrary  Children.  A  novel  and  interesting  game  for 
occasional  playing  is  that  of  Contrary  Children.  The  chil- 
dren stand  in  line  or,  better,  in  a  circle,  with  "  it "  inside. 
The  child  in  the  center  gives  commands,  such  as, "  Turn  to 


PERIOD  THREE 


125 


the  right,"  or  "  Put  your  right  hand  out,"  while  the  children 
do  the  opposite,  as  turn  to  the  left  or  put  the  right  hand  in. 
Wlien  one  is  detected  in  doing  as  bidden  he  has  to  be  "  it." 

Guess.  One  gives  the  first  letter  of  some  object  in  the 
room  and  the  others  guess  the  object.  The  one  that  guesses 
right,  names  another  object,  and  so  on.  No  object  may  be 
mentioned  the  second  time.     Sides  may  be  chosen,  the  right 


Taming  a  Squirrel 
Photograph  by  S.  Weaver 

to  guess  passing  from  one  side  to  the  other.  The  side  guess- 
ing successfully  may  choose  a  player  from  the  other  side.  The 
side  having  the  most  players  at  the  close  of  the  game  wins. 

Genteel  Lady.  One  says  to  her  neighbor,  "  Good  morning, 
genteel  lady,  always  genteel ;  I,  a  genteel  lady,  always  gen- 
teel, come  from  that  genteel  lady  (pointing),  always  genteel, 
to  tell  you  that  she  has  a  bird"  (or  anything  one  likes). 
The  one  addressed  repeats  exactly  and  adds  something  else 


126  EDUCATION   BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMP:S 

about  the  bird,  and  so  on.  The  player  who  omits  a  word,  or 
puts  in  an  extra  one,  is  out. 

Beast,  Bird,  or  Fish.  The  children  sit  in  a  circle.  One  throws 
a  knotted  handkerchief  at  another,  exclaiming,  "  Beast ! " 
"  Bird ! "  or  "  Fish  ! "  and  then  counts  ten.  Before  ten  is 
counted  the  other  must  name  a  beast  or  bird  or  fish,  being 
sure  to  mention  one  of  the  right  class  and  not  to  repeat 
what  has  been  before  mentioned. 

The  Good  Little  Man.  One  says,  "  I  sell  you  the  house  of 
my  good  little  man."  The  next,  "  I  sell  you  the  door  of  the 
house  of  my  good  little  man."  The  next,  "  I  sell  you  the  lock 
of  the  door,  etc.,"  and  so  on  at  pleasure. 

These  games  may  be  adapted  to  memory  and  drill  work  in 
school  to  good  advantage.  For  example.  The  Good  Little 
Man  may  be  transformed  into  something  like  this :  "  I  will 
sell  you  wool  when  you  come  to  the  city  of  Boston."  "  I  will 
sell  you  leather  and  wool  when  you  come  to  the  city  of 
Boston."  "I  will  sell  you  shoes  and  hides  and  leather  and 
wool  when  you  come  to  the  city  of  Boston."  "  I  will  sell  you 
boots  and  shoes  and  hides  and  leather  and  wool  when  you 
come  to  the  city  of  Boston."  "  I  will  sell  you  cloth  and  boots 
and  shoes  and  hides  and  leather  and  wool  when  you  come 
to  the  city  of  Boston."  And  this  may  be  continued  with 
the  addition  of  jewelry,  clocks,  cutlery,  etc.,  until  it  is  time 
for  some  one  to  say,  "And  that  is  the  most  that  I  will  sell 
you  wlien  you  come  to  the  city  of  Boston." 

Or  in  the  game  of  Beast,  Bird,  or  Fish  one  may  call  for  the 
name  of  a  mountain,  river,  or  city ;  for  a  verb,  adjective,  or  noun ; 
for  the  name  of  an  inventor,  discoverer,  or  poet.  Sides  may  be 
chosen.  For  such  ])urposes,  however,  the  games  may  be  found 
better  adapted  for  tlie  next  period, —  the  golden  period  of  drill. 


PERIOD  THREE  127 

Railroad  Game.  Each  child  takes  the  name  of  something 
associated  with  a  raih'oad.  One  relates  a  story.  At  the  men- 
tion of  rails, "  Kails  "  must  rise  and  extend  his  arms  in  front. 
At  the  mention  of  newsboy,  "  Newsboy  "  must  call  out  his 
papers,  and  so  on  through  the  list  of  names  chosen.  Strict 
attention  must  be  paid,  and  if  one  forgets  liis  part,  or  hesi- 
tates when  his  name  is  called,  he  is  put  out  of  the  game  or 
made  to  pay  a  forfeit. 

Trades.  Sides  are  chosen.  One  side  chooses  some  trade  to 
represent  and  imitates  the  different  motions  belonging  to  the 
trade.  If  the  other  side  guesses  correctly,  it  chooses  the  next 
trade  to  be  represented.  The  game  may  cover  a  wide  field  of 
dramatic  representation. 

Gramho.  In  this  game  a  player  thmks  of  some  word  and 
says,  "I  think  of  some  word  that  rhymes  with ."  Sup- 
pose the  word  thought  of  was  "book."  The  player  might  say, 
"  I  am  thinking  of  a  word  that  rhymes  with  '  look.' "  Another 
player  then  asks,  for  example,  "  Is  it  sometliing  to  hang  a 
coat  on  ? "  The  first  player  answers,  "  No,  it  is  not  a  hook." 
This  is  continued  until  the  word  is  correctly  guessed.  This 
may  apply  to  names  in  geography,  history,  and  the  like.  It 
may  be  played  with  sides.  In  Acting  Crambo  the  guesses  are 
acted  out. 

Schoolmaster.  The  children  stand  in  a  line.  The  school- 
master asks  the  name  of  a  bird,  animal,  place,  noted  person, 
or  whatever  he  likes,  beginning  with  a  certain  letter.  After 
ten  is  counted,  the  next  child  may  answer  and  take  the  place 
above,  if  the  one  asked  has  not  already  answered.  Repetition 
is  not  to  be  allowed. 

Hide  in  Sight.  An  object  agreed  upon  is  so  hidden  in  the 
room  that  it  is  not  entirely  concealed  if  one  looks  sharply 


128 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


from  all  points  of  view.  The  children  tile  alxuit  the  room  in 
line.  When  a  child  sees  the  object  he  makes  no  sign  notice- 
able to  the  rest  until  he  gets  to  the  aisle  leading  to  his  desk, 
when  he  quietly  takes  his  seat.    When  all  are  seated  the 


The  Center  of  Interest 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Cobb 

object  may  be  concealed  again.  If  preferred,  the  children 
may  pass  about  the  room  without  formality,  the  first  one  to 
discover  the  object  being  allowed  to  hide  it  again  at  once. 

Magical  Music.   This  game  is  similar  to  Hide  in  Sight. 
The  object  is  completely  hidden  and  some  one  plays  the  piano, 


PERIOD  THREE  129 

loudly  wlieu  the  children  approach  the  object,  softly  wheu 
they  are  far  from  it. 

Observation.  A  number  of  objects  are  placed  upon  a  table 
or  in  the  teacher's  lap  and  covered  with  an  apron.  The  chil- 
dren tile  by,  the  teacher  disclosing  the  objects.  Those  who 
can,  tell  exactly  the  number  of  objects  or  name  them.  A 
number  of  marks  may  be  made  upon  the  blackboard  and  con- 
cealed from  sight.  When  all  are  ready  the  marks  are  disclosed 
for  an  instant.  The  exact  number  is  to  be  told.  These  games 
are  easily  adapted  to  number  work,  spelling,  and  memoriz- 
ing, the  period  of  observation  bemg  adapted  to  the  occasion. 
For  example,  three  minutes  may  be  allowed  for  learning  a 
spelling  lesson  from  the  board ;  as  many  seconds  to  do  a 
sum  in  addition  as  there  are  figures  written ;  three  mmutes 
for  learning,  a  rule,  and  the  like.  The  following  quotation 
from  Scripture's  Thinking,  Feeling,  Doing,  is  suggestive : 

Tnnuiiierable  exercises  in  quick  and  accurate  oliservation  can  be 
used  in  direct  assistance  to  the  regular  work  of  the  schoolroom.  The 
spelling  of  words  can  be  learned  by  quick  glances  ;  the  outline  and 
parts  of  a  country  can  be  taught  in  greater  and  greater  detail  by 
successive  quick  exercises  ;  a  problem  in  mental  arithmetic  is  to  be 
grasped  with  only  a  momentary  jiresentation  of  it ;  an  object  is  to 
be  drawn  from  an  instantaneous  glimpse,  etc.  Indeed,  there  is  not 
a  single  school  exercise  that  cannot  be  so  taught  as  to  train  this 
ability.  In  fact,  the  children  are  naturally  quicker  than  we  suppose 
them  to  be  ;  it  is  often  the  case  that  lessons  of  interest  to  the  child 
are  carefully  presented  in  such  a  way  as  to  actually  teach  him  to  be 
slow  instead  of  quick. 

These  exercises  will  be  useful  especially  in  connection  with 
the  school  work  of  Period  Four,  and  tend  not  only  to  enliven 
the  children  and  quicken  mental  processes,  but  also  to  delay 
fatigue. 


130 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Identification.  The  children  close  their  eyes  while  the 
teacher  takes  one  child  from  the  circle  or  group.  The  others 
tell  the  name  of  the  child  who  was  taken.  Several  cliildren 
leave  the  room.  One  of  them  sings  or  calls,  and  the  children 
remaining  in  the  room  tell  who  it  was  that  sang  or  called. 
One  of  the  children  puts  her  hand  inside  the  door,  keeping 
the  rest  of  her  body  concealed,  or  peeks  around  the  door,  by 

which  act  she  is  to  be  identi- 
fied. Various  other  methods 
of  identification  may  be  used. 
Description  of  the  child  who 
has  left  the  room  may  be 
given,  including  the  color  of 
the  hair  and  eyes,  description 
of  dress,  etc. 

This  play  may  be  made  to 
include  numerous  games  for 
sense  trainmg,  identification 
of  substances  by  smell,  by 
taste,  by  touch,  and,  of  objects 
struck  or  dropped,  by  hear- 
ing. Selections  may  be  made  from  the  following  suggestive 
lists  of  objects  and  substances  taken,  with  slight  changes, 
from  Halleck's  Education  of  the  Central  Nervous  System 
(The  Macmillan  Company),  with  kind  permission  of  the 
author.  For  games  involving  the  sense  of  smell,  procure 
small  pasteboard  boxes  of  pennyroyal,  sage,  orris  root,  cin- 
namon, cloves,  caraway,  black  pepper,  red  pepper,  celery 
seed,  coffee,  tea,  ginger  root,  gum  turpentine,  licorice,  sas- 
safras, allspice,  cardamon,  saffron,  lavender  flowers,  star 
anise,  myrrh,  tonka  beans. 


Breaking  his  Dog  to  Harney 


PERIOD  THREE 


131 


Procure  small  vials  of  oils  of  peppermint,  clove,  winter- 
green,  cedar,  lemon,  bay  leaves,  rosemary,  citronella,  verbena, 
nutmeg,  lavender,  spearmint,  bitter  almonds,  eucalyptus. 

The  following  flowers  are  well  adapted  for  these  games : 
golden-rod,  majoram,  rosemary,  honeysuckle,  clover,  daisy, 
tansy,  orange  flowers,  elder  flowers,  jasmine,  tuberose,  violet. 


TllOKOHiliLY    TkAIXEO 


hyacinth,  lilac,  lily  of  the  valley,  heliotrope,  carnation,  gera- 
nivnii,  rose,  sweet  pea,  apple  blossoms,  peach  blossoms. 

The  sense  of  touch  may  be  exercised  by  the  use  of  the 
following  familiar  household  or  schoolroom  objects  :  peas, 
beans,  silk,  velvet,  wool,  linen,  cotton,  hemp,  flax,  dandelion, 
feathers,  clover,  pear,  nuts  of  various  kinds,  leaves  of  the 
common  trees,  quince,  apple,  peach,  grape,  plum,  currant, 
cranberry,  blackberry,  strawberry,  raspberry. 

For  training  the  sense  of  sight  make  use  of  the  following : 
common  wild  flowers,  garden  flowers,  leaves  of  the  common 
trees,  various  grasses,  bark  of    most    common    trees,  most 


132  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

common  woods,  recognition  of  birds  in  season,  recognition 
of  birds  by  pictures  or  mounted  specimens,  recognition  of 
famous  men  from  pictures,  recognition  of  animals  from  pic- 
tures, recognition  of  colors  in  various  objects. 

Field  and  exploring  excursions  are  of  great  value  for  the 
training  of  the  sense  of  hearing.  Children  may  learn  to  iden- 
tify the  songs  of  common  birds  in  season,  the  voices  and  calls 
of  various  animals,  the  sounds  of  the  woods,  the  sounds  of  in- 
sects, the  trill  of  toads  and  frogs,  the  sounds  of  various  toys 
and  musical  instruments,  and  to  identify  by  sound  various 
objects  dropped  upon  the  floor,  objects  tapped,  rustled,  etc. 

Many  other  games  which  might  properly  be  included 
under  the  general  class  of  Games  of  Experimentation  will 
be  mentioned  later  in  connection  with  the  games  involving 
school  subjects. 

Guess  games,  riddles,  and  puzzles.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  common  guess  games  of  this  period.  Eiddles 
and  puzzles  are  further  mentioned  in  connection  with  games 
that  particularly  involve  common  school  subjects. 

Hoio  Many  Fingers?  A  child  "blinds"  or  hides  his  head 
in  another's  lap,  who  says, 

Mingledy,  mingledy,  clap,  clap,  clap, 
How  many  fingers  do  I  hold  up? 

The  guesser  answers ;  then  the  other  says,  "  Two  you  said, 
and  three  it  was."  When  the  right  guess  is  given  the  players 
change  places.  Sometimes  one  player  mounts  upon  the  back 
of  the  other  and  says,  "  Buck,  buck,  how  many  fingers  do  I 
hold  up?"  If  the  guess  is  right,  the  players  exchange  places. 
This  game  is  called  Buck,  and  belongs  more  properly  to  the 
next  period 


PERIOD  THREE  133 

High  or  Low  /  A  pebble  is  placed  in  one  hand,  and  the  lists 
closed  and  placed  one  above  the  other.    The  child  then  says, 

Handy-dandy,  riddledy  ro, 

Which  will  you  have,  high  or  low? 

The  guess  is  made  and  the  hands  are  opened.  This  is  a  com- 
mon way  of  settling  disputes. 

Come,  It  Comes.  One  child  says,  "  It  comes,  it  comes." 
The  others  ask,  "  What  do  you  come  by  ? "  The  first  child 
replies,  "  I  come  by ,"  naming  the  tirst  letter  of  the  ob- 
ject in  mind,  which  should  be  some  object  in  sight.  The 
others  try  to  guess  the  object. 

Button,  BvMon.  The  players,  with  hands  pressed  together, 
sir  in  a  circle,  the  one  with  the  button  in  the  center.  She 
holds  the  button  pressed  between  tlie  palms  and  draws  her 
hands  down  through  the  hands  of  each  player  in  turn,  say- 
ing, "  Hold  fast  all  I  give  you."  She  drops  the  button  slyly 
into  the  hand  of  whichever  player  she  chooses.  When  the 
circle  is  completed  she  says  to  each  player  in  turn,  "  Button, 
button,  who  's  got  the  button  ?  "  The  one  guessing  correctly, 
wins.     Forfeits  for  wrong  guesses  are  sometimes  required. 

Odd  or  Even,  Hull  Gull,  Morra.  These  are  guess  games 
described  under  arithmetic.  Allied  to  the  guess  games  are 
simple  conundrums  and  puzzles  which  are  of  much  interest 
in  this  period. 

Use  may  be  made  of  the  guessing  interest  of  this  period 
and  of  the  previous  period  in  various  impromptu  exercises  in 
the  school.  For  example,  children  learning  to  read  by  the 
phonic  method  will  be  interested  in  trying  to  guess  a  word 
thought  of.  One  child  says,  "  I  am  thinking  of  a  word  that 
ends  in  and."    The  next  player  says,  "  Is  it  land  ?  "  the  next, 


134 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


"  Is  it  sand  ?  "  and  so  on,  until  the  right  word  is  guessed.  In 
number  work  games  like  the  following  may  be  played.  One 
player  says,  "  I  am  thinking  of  an  example  whose  answer  is 
24."  The  next  player  says,  "Is  it  3  X  8? "  the  next,  "  Is  it 
4  X  6  ? "  and  so  on.  Basedow,  it  will  be  remembered,  made 
much  use  of  the  guessing  interest  in  teaching  Latin.  It  is 
very  easy  to  improvise  games  of  this  sort  for  young  children 
in  a  great  variety  of  subjects. 

Singing  games.  In  the  traditional  singing  games  of  chil- 
dren there  is  a  mine  that  is  yet  hardly  touched  by  the  grade 
teacher.    These  games  surpass  all  others  in  the  possibilities 


F()trU-lN-llA.M 


for  musical,  rhythmical,  and  dramatic  expression,  and  in 
humor  and  pathos.  The  kindergarten  has  made  much  of 
these  games,  recasting  not  a  few,  but  they  are  even  better 
suited  for  children  of  primary  and  intermediate  grades.    The 


PERIOD  THREE 


135 


teacher  should  consult  the  classic  works  of  William  Wells 
Newell  and  Alice  B,  Gomme.  It  is  impossible  here  to  do 
justice  to  these  games,  but  several  are  briefly  described. 


A  Boy's  Turtle  Farm 
Photograph  by  E.  Rice 

Looby  Loo,  or  I  put  my  Riglit  Hand  In.  The  children  stand 
in  a  circle,  one  inside  acting  as  leader.    She  begins  by  singing, 
I  put  my  right  hand  in,  I  put  my  right  hand  out, 
I  give  my  hand  a  shake,  shake,  shake,  and  turn  myself  about. 

The  song  is  repeated  by  the  others,  who  imitate  the  leader's 
acts.  The  song  goes  on,  changing  the  words  to  "  left  hand," 
"  both  hands,"  "  right  foot,"  "  left  foot,"  etc. 

When  I  was  a  Young  Girl.   The  children  form  a  circle, 
taking  hold  of  hands.    They  sing. 

When  I  was  a  schoolgirl,  a  schoolgirl,  a  schoolgirl. 
When  T  was  a  schoolgirl,  oh,  this  way  went  T. 
And  this  way  and  that  way  and  this  way  and  that  way, 
When  I  was  a  schoolgirl,  oh,  this  way  went  I. 


136  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

The  song  goes  on,  using  the  words  "  teacher,"  "  sweetheart," 
"  husband,"  "  baby,"  "  washing,"  etc.  The  players  suit  the 
action  to  the  words  in  each  verse. 

When  I  was  a  Shoemaker.  This  is  a  similar  game,  the 
song  running  like  this : 

When  I  was  a  shoemaker,  and  a  shoemaker  was  I, 

A  this  a-way  and  a  this  a-way  and  a  this  a-way  went  I. 

Other  words  introduced  are  "  gentleman,"  "  lady,"  "  farmer,"  etc. 
As  We  go  round  the  Mulherry  Bush. 

As  we  go  round  the  nuilberry  bush. 
The  mulberry  bush,  the  mulberry  bush, 
As  we  go  round  the  mulberry  bush, 
So  early  in  the  morning. 

This  is  the  way  we  wash  our  clothes,  etc. 
All  of  a  Monday  morning. 

This  is  the  way  we  iron  our  clothes,  etc. 
All  of  a  Tuesday  morning. 

And  so  on  through  all  the  days  of  the  week. 

Go  Round  and  Round  the  Valley.  The  children  form  a 
circle,  taking  hold  of  hands.  One  child  is  outside  the  circle. 
All  sing, 

Go  round  and  round  the  valley, 

Go  round  and  round  the  valley, 

Go  round  and  round  the  valley, 

As  we  are  all  so  gay. 

The  players  then  let  go  hands  and  I  lie  child  wlio  was  outside 
the  circle  winds  in  and  out  among  the  players  singing, 

(io  in  and  out  the  windows,  etc., 
As  we  are  all  so  gay. 


PERIOD  THREE  137 

She  next  faces  one  of  the  children  and  all  sing, 

Go  back  and  face  your  lover,  etc., 
As  we  are  all  so  gay. 

She  then  takes  the  hand  of  some  child  and  smgs, 

Such  love  I  have  to  show  you,  etc.. 
As  we  are  all  so  gay. 

The  chosen  child  takes  her  place. 

The  Farmer  in  the  Ddl.    One  child  stands  in  the  center 
of  the  riag.    They  sing, 

The  farmer  in  the  dell, 
The  fanner  in  the  dell, 
Heigh-ho,  for  Rowley  0, 
The  farmer  in  the  dell. 

The  child  then  chooses  another  child  to  stand  beside  her,  as 
they  all  sing, 

The  farmer  takes  the  wife,  etc. 

The  game  goes  on  until  a  wife,  child ,  nurse,  dog,  cat,  rat, 
cheese,  have  been  chosen.    The  last  verse  runs. 

The  cheese  stands  alone,  etc. 

Green  Gravel.    The  players  form  a  ring,  singing  as  they 
circle  about. 

Green  gravel,  green  gravel,  your  grass  is  so  green, 
The  fairest  young  damsel  that  ever  was  seen. 
I  '11  wash  you  in  new  milk  and  dress  you  in  silk. 
And  write  down  your  name  with  gold  pen  and  iidv. 

(), !  O, !  your  true  love  is  dead  ; 

He  's  sent  you  a  letter  to  turn  round  your  head. 


138  EDUCATION  BY  TLAYS  AND  GAMES 

The  child  named  by  the  players  turns  her  head  at  the  last 
line,  facing  outward,  but  resuming  hold  of  the  hands  of  the 
chiLdren  next  to  her.  The  song  continues  until  all  are  facing 
outward. 

Jenny  Jones.  The  mother  of  Jenny  conceals  her  daughter 
behind  her,  holding  out  her  skirts  to  keep  her  from  view. 
The  other  players  form  a  line  and  advance  singing, 

We  've  come  to  see  Miss  Jenny  Jones,  Jenny  Jones, 

Jenny  Jones, 
We  've  come  to  see  Miss  Jenny  Jones, 
How  is  slie  now? 

The  mother  sings, 

Oh,  Jenny  is  washing,  washing,  washing, 
You  can't  see  her  now. 

The  others  repeat  their  verse,  and  the  mother  replies. 
Oh,  Jenny  is  starching,  etc. 

The  song  continues,  the  mother  replying  in  turn  that  Jenny 
is  ironing,  ill,  dying,  dead.  All  is  acted  out  dramatically. 
Finally  all  sing. 

There  's  red  for  the  soldiers  and  bhie  for  the  sailors, 
And  black  for  the  mourners  of  poor  Jenny  Jones. 

London  Bridge.  Two  children  form  an  arch  by  taking  hold 
of  hands  and  raising  them  above  their  heads.  The  oilier  play- 
ers form  in  line  and  pass  under  the  arch  while  all  sing, 

London  bridge  is  falling  down,  falling  down,  falling  down, 
London  bridge  is  falling  down,  my  fair  lady. 

At  the  last  words  of  the  song,  the  arms  which  form  the  arch 
descend  and  capture  one  of  the  players  who  happens  to  be 
passing  under.  The  one  thus  caught  is  made  to  choose  between 
two  articles  previously  agreed  upon  by  the  players  who  form 


PERIOD  THREE 


139 


London  Bridge 


the  arch.  After  choosing,  the  player  takes  her  place  behind 
the  one  representing  the  article  chosen.  The  song  continues 
until  all  are  caught,  when  the  game  ends  in  a  tug  of  war. 

Recurrent  or  seasonal  games.  Little  has  been  said  m  re- 
gard to  the  influence  of  the  seasons  upon  the  choice  of  games ; 
but  this  influence,  which  is  very  noticeable  even  to  the  most 
casual  observer,  should  not  be  forgotten.  The  suggestions  of 
tlie  seasons  and  of  special 
days  should  continually 
be  taken  by  the  teacher. 
The  spring,  summer,  fall, 
and  winter,  St.  Valen- 
tine's Day,  May  Day,  In- 
dependence  Day,  the 
harvest,  Halloween, 
Thanksgiving,  Christ- 
mas, New  Year's,  birthdays,  and  other  occasions  bring  their 
sure  and  urgent  suggestions.  The  folk  stories,  the  folk  games, 
and  the  folk  dances  appropriate  to  these  times  may  well 
be  utilized. 

Dancing.  The  revival  of  folk  dances  is  a  source  of  rejoic- 
ing to  many  who  believe  them  to  be  a  valuable  exercise,  and 
in  other  respects  much  superior  to  modern  social  dances. 
Some  of  the  simple  dances  of  children  have  been  referred  to 
under  Singing  Games.  Some  of  the  Scottish  folk  dances  are 
familiar  to  teachers,  also  May  Pole  dances.  The  latter  are 
described  in  Lincoln's  May  Pole  Dances. 

A  considerable  number  of  games  that  might  properly  have 
been  included  in  the  classes  previously  mentioned  have,  for 
the  sake  of  the  convenience  of  the  teacher,  been  reserved  for 
mention  under  school  subjects. 


140 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Arithmetic.  Among  the  many  plays  and  games  involving 
the  use  of  arithmetic  the  following  should  be  mentioned : 

Counting.  Young  children  seem  to  manifest  a  play  inter- 
est in  repeating  the  number  series,  or  counting.  This  interest 
and  delight  in  repeating  the  series  should  be  taken  advantage 
of  in  the  first  school  year. 

Chichens.  Children  stand  about  the  number  table.  The 
teacher  scatters  a  handful  of  corn  kernels  on  the  table  before 
them.  The  chickens  pick  them  up  as  fast  as  they  can  and 
count  to  see  who  has  the  most. 

Dice.  Paste  numbers  upon  inch  cubes.  The  children  throw 
these  as  dice,  two  at  a  time,  combining  the  numbers  thrown. 
This  may  be  played  in  class  at  the  number  table  or  at  the 
desks,  the  children  throwing  the  dice  quietly  upon  blotting 


Dancing 


paper  and  writing  down  the  sum  of  combinations  thrown, 
thus :  4  +  P)  =  7.  The  saine  device  may  be  used  in  subtrac- 
tion or  multiplication. 

Dominoes.    Dominoes,  or  cards  marked  after  the  manner  of 
dominoes,  may  be  used.    The  children  draw  from  a  number 


PERIOD  THREE 


141 


of  cards,  match  them,  and  add  the  numbers  at  the  ends. 
Match  in  two  directions ;  three  directions ;  four  directions. 
Invent  variations. 

Number  Tops.   Tops  can  be  made  of  cardboard  cut  in  the 
r.  )rm  of  regular  polygons.  Numbers  are  written  upon  the  sides. 


Dancing  to  the  Hi  kdv-Gl  kdv 


A  small  stick  is  stuck  through  the  center  of  the  polygon  and 
the  top  is  spun  by  the  fingers.  The  children  coiubine  the 
numbers  appearing  on  the  upper  side  of  the  top  as  it  falls,  in 
two  spins,  three  spins,  etc.  A  number  may  be  written  at  the 
center  of  the  top  and  used  for  subtraction  or  multiplication 
or  even  division. 

Ten-pins.  Small  cardboard  cylinders  are  set  up  as  tenpins 
on  the  floor  or  (ni  tlie  number  table.  Tlie  children,  stand- 
ing at  a  convenient  distance,  bowl  at  the  pins  with  small 
wooden  or  hard  rubber  balls.  Scores  may  be  kept  at  the  board 
and  added. 


142  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Bean  Bags.  Concentric  rings  are  drawn  upon  the  floor 
and  the  bean  bags  are  pitched  at  them.  The  rings  may  be 
numbered  to  suit  the  convenience,  and  the  scores  kept  as  in 
games  previously  described. 

Odd  or  Even.  The  players  take  a  certain  number  of  beans 
or  marbles.  One  places  liis  hands  behind  his  back,  arranges 
the  marbles  in  them  as  he  desires,  then  stretches  one  closed 


TllK  U\\    i'oi.i. 
Photograph  by  C.  W.  Whituey 

hand  out  before  him,  and  says,  "  Odd  or  even  ? "  One  of  the 
others  guesses  whether  the  luimber  contained  in  the  hand  is 
an  odd  or  an  even  number.  If  he  guesses  right,  he  is  given  a 
marble.  A  similar  game  is  Hull  Gull.  Here  the  child  who 
holds  out  his  hand  says,  "  Hull  gull,  hands  full,  parcel,  liow 
many  ? "  If,  for  example,  three  is  guessed  and  five  is  right, 
the  first  player  says,  "  Give  me  two  to  make  it  five." 


PERIOD  THREE  143 

Toy  Money.  Toy  money  may  ])e  bought  at  toy  stores  or 
made  in  a  rough  way  by  children,  as  by  ciittmg  out  round 
pieces  of  paper  for  coins  and  rectangular  pieces  for  bills,  and 
writing  the  denomination  upon  them.  Children  take  much 
pleasure  in  playing  store  with  this  money,  and  acquire  con- 
siderable facility  in  making  change. 

Store.  Cardboard  may  be  cut  and  marked  to  represent 
different  articles  of  merchandise.  These  articles  are  bought 
and  sold,  toy  money  being  used  and  change  being  made. 
Weighing  and  measuring  may  be  included  also. 

Morra.  All  hold  out  hands  quickly  with  a  certain  number 
of  fingers  extended.  Tlie  one  who  first  names  the  exact  num- 
ber of  fingers  extended,  which  number  is  determined  by 
counting  later,  wins. 

Suggestive  Games  for-  Drill.  (1)  Cliildren  stand  in  a  row. 
Count  up  and  down  the  line,  forward  and  backward,  quickly. 
Whoever  hesitates  too  long,  or  misses,  moves  down  the  line. 
In  the  same  way  count  by  twos,  by  threes,  and  so  on. 
(2)  Play  as  above,  but  every  multiple  of  some  number  agreed 
upon,  as  two,  must  be  called  "  buzz."  Have  a  penalty  for 
missing,  as  going  dovai  the  line  or  taking  the  seat.  (3)  Sides 
may  be  chosen,  the  two  lines  facing  each  other,  the  counting 
passing  back  and  forth  from  one  side  to  the  other.  The  side 
having  most  at  the  close  wins.  (4)  Children  stand  in  line, 
facing  one  who  is  called  teacher.  The  teacher  has  a  card 
in  her  hand  and  gives  out  such  tasks  as  "  count  to  twenty," 

"  count  back,"  "  count  by  twos,"  "  write  at  the  board ,"  etc. 

AMioever  misses  takes  liis  seat.  (5)  Children  stand  in  line. 
The  child  at  the  head  says,  "1  +  1  =  2";  the  next,  "24-1 
=  3 " ;  and  so  on,  down  the  line  and  through  the  tables. 
(6)  First  child  recites  a  table,  the  second  another,  and  so  on. 


144 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Whoever  misses  pays  some  penalty.  Devise  similar  games 
with  sides.  (7)  First  child  says,  "  8 :  7  +  1  =  8,  6  +  2  =  8, 
6  +  3  =  8,  4  +  4  =  8";  the  next  takes  a  different  number,  and 
so  on.   Whoever  makes  a  mistake,  or  repeats  a  number  already 

given,  moves  down  the  line. 
(8)  Play  similarly  with  mul- 
tiplication, as  "16:  2x8  = 
16,4x4=16."  (9)  Choose 
sides.  The  leader  of  one  side 
begins  by  reciting  a  table,  the 
next  takes  up  the  next  table, 
and  so  on.  The  teacher  times 
tlie  side  to  see  how  long  it 
takes  to  get  through  the 
tables.  If  a  mistake  is  made, 
the  next  child  must  begin 
with  tlie  same  table.  The 
teacher  times  the  other  side 
also  to  see  which  side  wins. 
(10)  Similar  to  (4),  but  in- 
volving miscellaneous  prob- 
lems. Devise  other  games, 
adapting  difficulty  to  the 
grade  of  the  children. 

Niiinher  Races.  When  all 
are  ready  disclose  examples 
in  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication,  or  division,  which  have 
been  concealed  from  sight.  The  one  who  has  the  largest  num- 
ber of  correct  answers  within  a  given  time  wins.  The  time 
limit  should  be  generous  at  first  and  the  examples  not  too 
many  or  too  difficult.     The  game  may  be  played  with  sides. 


Setting  i  i' a  ]1(imi;  loi;  iiii,  ItiitDS 
Photograph  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 


PERIOD  THREE  145 

The  time  limit  may  be  gradualh'  sliortened.  Such  work,  wisely 
conducted,  tends  to  strengthen  greatly  the  power  of  concen- 
tration and  to  give  a  sweet  joy  in  conscious  achievement. 

Bridge  Board.  Let  the  boys  make  a  board  by  boring 
auger  holes  through  a  piece  of  wood  of  suitable  size  and  saw- 
ing it  m  line  wdth  the  centers  of  the  holes.  Numbers  should 
1)6  written  above  the 


35798642 
arches,  as  shown  in 

the  diagram.  The  game  is  to  roll  marbles  through  the  arches 
from  a  given  distance,  the  player  scoring  the  number  marked 
above  the  hole  through  which  he  shoots. 

Nature  plays.    These  include  the  following : 
Exploring.    The  exploring  play  of  children  already  men- 
tioned is  one  of  the  best  possible  means  of  nature  study. 
This  combines  naturally  with  the  collecting  plays  and  with 
some  of  the  liunting  plays  already  mentioned. 

Gollecting.  Gathering  common  w41d  flow^ers,  grasses,  ferns, 
and  leaves  should  be  encouraged.  If  desired,  these  may  be  pre- 
served in  a  simple  Ijut  systematic  way,  as  by  laymg  away  in 
boxes  or  pressing  in  books,  or  impressions  may  be  taken  with 
blue-print  paper.  Glass  may  be  obtained  for  the  asking  from 
any  photographer,  out  of  his  accumulation  of  spoiled  plates. 
Cocoons  may  be  gathered  and  preserved.  There  is  no  more 
interesting  experiment  for  cliildren  than  that  of  placing  a 
cocoon  of  one  of  our  large  moths  in  the  schoolroom  and 
seeing  the  beautiful  creature  come  out,  spread  its  wings, 
and  fly  about  the  room.  Live  insects  may  be  collected  for 
observation  in  the  schoolroom.  An  ants'  nest  can  easily  be 
made  by  taking  an  old  school  slate,  filling  it  even  with  the 
frame  with  sand,  and  covering  with  a  pane  of  glass.  Place 
the  slate  on  a  block  or  brick  resting  in  a  shallow  pan  of 


146 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


water,  to  prevent  the  ants  from  going  away.  Cover  the  glass 
with  a  piece  of  cardboard  to  darken  the  nest.  Scrape  up  an 
ants'  nest,  —  ants,  eggs,  dirt,  and  all,  —  and  pour  on  top  of 
the  cardboard.  The  ants  will  transfer 
their  eggs  to  the  dirt  in  the  slate  in 
a  short  time.  Be  sure  to  leave  a  space 
at  one  corner  of  the  glass  where  the 
ants  may  get  below  it.  Caterpillars 
about  to  spin  cocoons  are  interesting. 
Collections  of  stones  and  shells  are 
valuable.  Making  a  mental  or  written 
list  of  the  birds  seen  in  the  spring 
is  helpful.  Water  specimens  should 
be  gathered  with  nets  for  the  aqua- 
rium, especially  skippers,  newts,  cad- 
dice  flies,  shiners,  young  mud  turtles, 
frogs'  eggs  and  toads'  eggs  for  hatch- 
ing. Nutting,  berrying,  and  fishing 
should  also  be  mentioned.  Especially 
should  the  saving  and  feeding  of  or- 
phan birds  be  encouraged. 

Camping  with  Elders.  The  begin- 
nings of  woodcraft,  watching  animal 
life,  "hunting  without  gun  or  camera," 
are  to  be  encouraged  in  this  period. 

Gardening.  The  beginning  of 
gardening  —  preparing  soil,  planting 
seeds,  transplanting,  watermg,  and  weeding  —  is  adapted  to 
this  period.  If  there  is  no  plot  of  ground  available,  a  good 
garden  can  be  made  anywhere  by  bringing  the  soil  and  pro- 
tecting it  from  being  washed  away  by  the  rains.    At  least, 


Oki'HAN.s 

Photograph  by  Dr.  C.  F. 
Hodge 


PERIOD  THREE 


147 


boxes  may  ])e  used.  There  are  several  vegetables  that  will 
mature  before  the  last  of  June  in  the  cKmate  of  Massachu- 
setts, such  as  Alaska  peas,  onion  sets,  lettuce,  spinach,  flat 
turnips,  early  beets. 

Pets.  This  is  the  time  for  the  beginning  of  the  care  of  pets 
at  home  and  at  scliool. 

Geography  plays  and  games.  The  following  are  suggestive 
of  activities  that  are  of  interest  to  the  teacher  of  geography. 

Sand  Pile.  The  sand- 
pile  play  offers  a  most 
excellent  opportunity  for 
the  study  of  geograpliy, 
the  making  of  caves,  huts, 
hills,  valleys,  plains,  roads, 
miniature  villages,  farms 
with  toy  cattle,  twig  for- 
ests, fences,  telegraph 
poles,  etc.  The  effect  of 
showers  on  the  ''hills"  and 
the  course  of  streamlets 
and  the  like  should  be 
noticed.  See  "  The  Story 
of  a  Sand  Pile,"  l)y  G. 
Staidey  Hall. 

Playing  in  the  brook  brings  knowledge  of  water  courses, 
erosion,  and  river  valleys ;  building  dams  and  sluiceways, 
knowledge  of  water  power  and  the  like ;  flying  kites,  knowl- 
edge of  winds  and  currents ;  sailing  boats,  playing  trains, 
playing  store,  knowledge  of  navigation,  transportation,  com- 
merce, and  traffic,  or  at  least  sense  perceptions  necessary  for 
later  knowledge. 


A   i'ltlZh     W'iNNhK 

Photograph  by  Dr.  C.  F.  Hodge 


148 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Gardeniii,^'  and  nature  collections,  woodcraft,  and  ]>ets, 
which  have  been  previously  mentioned,  play  right  into  the 
hands  of  the  geography  teacher,  bring  a  knowledge  of  habitat, 
of  the  effect  of  seasons  and  climate,  and  also  a  rudimentary 
knowledge  of  agriculture  and  of  the  relation  of  plants  and 
animals  to  man. 

Sliced  Maps.  Maps  from  old  geographies  may  be  pasted 
upon  cardboard  and  cut  after  the  manner  of  sliced  maps  or 


Till-:    y.VNU    PlLli 

Kindness  of  G.  Stanley  Hall 


animals  of  the  toy  stores.  These  afford  much  amusement  and 
not  a  little  knowledge  of  maps.  Pictures  of  animals  of  differ- 
ent regions  may  be  treated  in  the  same  way. 

Pegging  the  Map.    Unmarked  maps  are  pasted  upon  boards 
or  heavy  cardboard,  gimlet  holes  beuig  bored  at  the  location 


PERIOD  THREE 


149 


of  important  cities.  Pegs  bearing  the  names  or  initials  of  the 
cities  are  to  he  mserted  ui  the  proper  holes.  The  map  is  then 
compared  with  an  ordinary  map.  AMien  there  are  several 
players  the  pegs  may  be  distributed  among  them.  Then 
each  hi  turn  places  a  peg  in  the  map  where  he  thinks  it 
should  be  placed.   If  no  objection  is  made,  he  scores  a  point ; 


A  School  Garden 
Kinduess  of  W.  A.  Baldwin 


if  one  or  more  object,  a  map  is  consulted,  and  if  the  objections 
are  right  the  players  objecting  score  a  point  each ;  if  wrong, 
they  forfeit  a  point. 

Repeating  Games.  For  the  most  advanced  children  of  the 
period  some  of  the  repeating  games,  as  My  Good  Little  Man, 
or  Beast,  Bird,  or  Fish,  previously  described,  may  be  adapted 
for  geography. 


150  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Language,  reading,  and  spelling  games.  The  beginnings 
of  language  lie  unquestionably  in  the  instinctive  and  spon- 
taneous efforts  of  the  child.  The  same  is  in  a  measure  true 
of  readmg  and  spelling.  The  story  interest  has  been  one  of 
tlie  most  powerful  motives  in  language  development  in  the 
race  and  in  the  child. 

Stories.  These  should  be  mostly  fairy  tales,  fables,  and 
other  lictions  ;  then  poetry  ;  and  then  biography. 

Printing.  A  very  usable  printing  outfit  suitable  for  busy 
work  in  connection  with  language  and  reading,  may  be  bought 
for  twenty-five  cents,  or  even  less. 

Dramatic  and  imitative  lolay.  The  make-believe  plays  of 
children,  playing  school,  house,  church,  and  the  like,  are  valu- 
able here;  also  the  acting  out  of  stories,  as  Tittle  Red  lliding- 


A  Story 

Hood,  The  Tliree  Bears,  Three  Little  Kittens,  Hiawatha,  and 
others,  may  be  utilized  with  much  profit  in  school  work. 

Spelliny  Game.  The  children  stand  in  line.  The  leader 
spells  a  word.  The  next  must  spell  a  word  beginning  with 
the  last  letter  of  tlie  word  spelled  by  tlie  first  cliild.    The 


PERIOD  THREE  151 

game  goes  on  in  a  similar  manner,  those  who  miss  taking 
their  seats.  The  last  one  standing  wins.  The  game  may  be 
played  with  sides. 

This  game  may  be  varied  by  confining  the  words  to  articles 
found  in  a  grocery  store,  for  example,  or  to  the  names  of  the 
children  in  school,  and  m  many  other  ways ;  or  a  child  may 


A  Buys'  Gauden 

name  the  first  letter  of  a  word  thought  of,  the  next  add  a 
new  letter,  and  so  on,  until  a  word  of  a  number  of  letters 
previously  agreed  upon  (as  six)  is  spelled.  AVhen  a  player  is 
unable  to  add  a  letter  he  must  say,  "  Pass."  Three  passes  put 
one  out  of  the  game.  A  player  may  be  challenged  as  to  the 
word  he  has  in  mind  at  any  time,  but  a  challenge,  if  correctly 
answered,  counts  as  a  pass  for  the  challenger. 

Spelling  MatcJi.  This  is  the  old-fashioned  game,  much  like 
the  above,  the  words  to  be  spelled  being  dictated  by  the 
teacher.  The  players  stand  in  a  single  line  and  "  spell  down," 
or  sides  may  be  chosen. 


152  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Spelling  Lotto.  This  is  played  similarly  to  Number  Lotto. 
Cards  may  be  bought  or  made  having  on  them  names  of 
objects  and  pictures  of  the  objects.  The  letters  are  drawn 
from  a  pile  or  a  bag.  The  one  who  first  covers  all  the  words 
on  this  card  with  the  proper  letters  wins. 

Logomachy.  This  is  played  with  cardboard  letters  printed 
on  one  side  only.  These  are  placed,  letters  down,  on  the  desk 
or  table.  Each  player  draws  one  letter.  The  one  drawing 
the  letter  nearest  the  beginning  of  the  alphabet  plays  first, 
the  one  on  his  left  second,  and  so  on.  The  letters  so  drawn 
are  replaced  and  the  one  who  plays  first  draws  again  and 
places  his  letter  face  up  on  the  table.  The  next  player  does 
likewise.  As  soon  as  any  player  can  combine  one  or  more  of 
his  own  letters  with  those  of  the  other  players  so  as  to  make 
a  word,  he  takes  their  letters,  spells  the  word,  and  places  it 
in  front  of  him.  A  word  so  made  may  be  taken  from  a  player 
by  another,  if  the  latter  can  add  a  letter  to  it  to  make  a 
different  word.  The  one  getting  a  certain  number  of  words 
first  wins. 

Buried  Words.  "  Somewhat  Ijack  from  the  ^•illage  street 
stands  an  old-fashioned  country  seat."  Find  a  country  dwel- 
ling and  a  body  of  water.  Answer,  villa  and  sea.  Fruits, 
flowers,  and  animals  are  good  words  to  conceal.  Quotations, 
original  sentences,  or  single  words  may  be  given. 

Anagrams.  The  letters  which  compose  some  word  are 
placed  upon  the  board,  but  not  in  the  right  order.  The 
players  try  to  arrange  the  letters  in  the  right  order.  The  one 
doing  so  first  wins.  A  hint  of  the  word  may  be  given,  if 
desired,  as  by  telling  that  it  is  the  name  of  a  fruit  or  of  some 
object  on  the  table.  This  game  may  be  played  with  or  without 
cardboard  letters. 


PERIOD  THREE 


153 


Dictionary.  A  long  word  is  given  or  written  upon  the 
board.  The  chiklren  make  as  many  words  as  possible  out  of 
the  letters  of  the  given  word. 

The  interest  in  competition,  beginning  at  this  period,  may 
be  utilized  to  advantage  in  an  ordinary  spelling  lesson.    Write 


Si.  ii'MH     L  !  "  v  i_u  Gauden 
Kindness  of  W.  A.  Baldwin 

a  list  of  words  on  the  board,  concealing  them  from  the  chil- 
dren. At  the  proper  time  disclose  the  words  and  allow  three 
minutes  for  study.  The  child  who  can  write  the  most  words 
correctly  from  memory  beats.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to 
make  the  lists  too  long  or  too  difficult. 


154  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Riddles,  Origijial  and  Standard.  Cliildreu  of  tliis  period 
should  have  hecome  familiar  with  the  best  of  the  classical 
riddles,  such  as  Humpty  Dumpty ;  Old  Mother  Twitchet ; 
Eound  as  an  Apple  ;  Little  Nanny  Etticoat ;  Elizabeth,  Elspeth, 
Betsy,  and  Bess ;  As  I  was  going  to  St.  Ives ;  Two  Legs  sat 
upon  Three  Legs;  Chink,  Chink;  The  Chimney;  The  Sphinx 
Riddle ;  and  others.  Composing  original  riddles  and  conun- 
drums, advancing  from  the  simple  guess  games  of  the  previous 
period,  will  furnish  good  language  exercises  for  this  period. 

Music  plays.  The  musical  interests  are  manifested  in 
various  ways  in  this  period.  There  should  always  be  given 
opportunity  for  listening  to  good  music.  In  singing  much 
should  be  made  of  rote  songs.  The  traditional  singing  games, 
descril)ed  on  pages  134—138,  are  of  special  interest.  Children 
of  this  age  delight  in  toy  instruments.  Frequently  a  kinder- 
symphonic  orchestra  may  lie  undertaken  with  great  profit. 

Drawing  plays.  At  this  age  the  drawing  interest  seems 
to  center  upon  the  representation  of  common  objects,  such  as 
houses,  trees,  and  the  like,  and  particularly  of  the  human 
figure  and  animals  in  action.  ]\Iucli  can  be  made  of  painting 
pictures,  doll  dresses,  and  like  occupations,  also  free-hand 
cutting,  especially  of  dolls  and  animals.  Silhouettes  and 
shadow  pictures  and  sand  and  clay  modeling  are  of  value. 


PEEIOD  FOUE  (Ages  10-12) 

Essential  characteristics.  The  essential  characteristics  of 
this  period  are  as  follows.  In  general  there  is  a  lessened  rate 
of  physical  growth,  particularly  for  boys,  but  rapid  structural 
development ;  there  is  an  apparent  lull  in  the  demands  upon 
the  system ;  it  is  the  period  of  greatest  immunity  from  dis- 
ease, the  specific  intensity  of  life  culminating  in  this  period, 
—  at  eleven  to  twelve  in  girls,  and  at  twelve  to  thirteen  in 
boys ;  the  development  of  the  special  senses  and  their  associ- 
ations is  continuing ;  the  coordination  of  muscular  action  and 
feeling  seems  to  be  the  special  import  of  this  period  in 
the  nervous  system ;  it  is  the  time  for  the  development  of 
facility  and  skill,  advancing  upon  the  Ijeginnmgs  of  the  pre- 
vious period.  It  is  the  golden  period  for  memorizing  and 
drill;  the  general  puzzle  interest  is  culminating.  It  is  a 
period  of  great  physical  activity ;  now  comes  the  height  of 
interest  in  running  games.  The  element  of  cooperation  in 
games  and  plays  is  developuig,  although  the  individual  still 
remains  most  prominent.  It  is  a  period  of  self-assertion  and 
apparent  selfishness ;  there  is  less  interest  in  adults  than  in 
companions ;  interest  in  organization  begins,  but  it  is  rather 
for  one's  own  profit ;  there  is  great  interest  in  boys'  clubs 
and  secret  societies,  mostly  athletic  or  predatory  in  nature. 
The  historical  interest  lies  mainly  in  the  life  and  adventures  of 
warriors,  explorers,  and  the  like ;  the  hunting,  camping,  and 
collection  interests  are  keen  ;  sex  differences  are  appearing. 

155 


156 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Apparatus  and  toys.  The  apparatus  and  toys  of  great  in- 
terest are  such  as  the  f oUowmg :  rings,  trapeze,  parallel  bars , 
horizontal  bar,  vaulting  bar,  climbing  rope,  tumbling  bed, 
climbing  pole,  balance  swing,  ladder,  teeter  ladder,  sliding 
pole,  jumping  standards,  jumping  pole,  giant  stride,  stilts ; 
l)aseball  diamond ;  basket-ball  court ;  shinney  sticks ;  ring- 
toss  ;  horseshoe  quoits  ;  ten  pins  ;  croquet  set ;  tennis  court ; 
yard   for  running  games ;    garden ;    sloyd  bench  and  tool'^; 


The  ClIiMis  and  Slide 

homemade  toys,  kites,  sailboats,  butterfly  net,  fish  net ;  fish- 
ing tackle ;  bows  and  arrows,  target ;  aquarium ;  back-yard 
menagerie  ;  hut  or  cave  ;  double-runner,  toboggan,  skates ;  arti- 
ficial skating  rink  and  coast,  if  natural  facilities  are  not  pro- 
vided ;  swimming  pool ;  catamaran  or  Crusoe  raft ;  drawing, 
painting,  sewing,  embroidery,  and  beadwork  material ;  musical 
instruments. 

Free,  active  plays.    Tlie  free,  informal,  active  plays  of  the 
previous  periotls  are  now  largely  superseded  by  formal  games 


PERIOD  FOUR 


157 


of  great  physical  activity,  particularly  running  games ;  but  the 
character  of  the  play  is  still  individualistic  rather  than  coop- 
erative, and  there  is  still  much  exploiting  of  strength,  speed, 
and  skill,  as  in  climbing,  wrestling,  racing,  skating,  swim- 
ming, jumping,  throwing,  shooting,  bicyclmg,  and  the  like. 

Sivimming.  Practically  all  boys  and  girls  ought  to  learn 
to  swim  before  the  close  of  this  period.  When  swinnning 
pools  are  not  provided 
much  can  be  made  of  the 
ponds  and  streams  and 
the  seashore  nearest  at 
hand.  There  are  few 
towns,  in  New  England 
at  least,  which  do  not 
have  natural  swimming 
pools  that  could  be  util- 
ized so  that  both  boys 
and  girls  might  learn  to 
swim  in  them.  The  ex- 
periments of  Dr.  P.  P). 
Hawk,  of  tlie  University  of  Pennsylvania,  showed  that  swim- 
ming stood  at  the  head  of  all  exercises  in  its  beneficial  effects 
upon  the  blood. 

Skating,  Coasting,  and  Other  Winter  Sports.  Participation 
in  winter  sports  should  be  heartily  encouraged.  Skating  rinks 
have  been  successfully  made  m  city  school  yards,  mainly  by 
the  boys,  and  coasting  tracks  constructed. 

Archery.  Boys  and  girls  can  make  their  own  bows,  arrows, 
and  targets.  Great  interest  is  probable,  when  archery  is  once 
started,  especially  if  in  connection  with  playing  Indians.  See 
The  Birch-Bark  Poll,  also  Two  Little  Savages,  both  by  Ernest 


(  I  I  AM     SlKII'l. 


158 


EDUCATION  BY   PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Thompson  Seton,  for  full  suggestions  for  forming  a  })and  of 
Indians,  for  making  bows  and  arrows,  and  for  standards 
of  marksmanship.  Also  see  The  Witchery  of  Archery,  by 
Maurice  Thompson. 

Dramatic  and  imitative  plays.    The  dramatic  and  imita- 
tive plays  of  this  period  include  attempts  at  circus  playing, 


TiiK  Swimming  I'ool 

minstrel  shows,  Wild  West  shows,  and  the  like ;  playing  In- 
dian, hunters,  trappers ;  attempts  at  secret  societies,  rituals, 
and  ordeals. 

Constructive  play.  The  flush  of  interest  in  skill  and  in 
the  details  of  workmanship,  appearing  in  this  period,  suggest 
the  opportunity  for  developing  pride  in  good  work.  If  the 
ambitious  interests  of  the  previous  period  have  been  well  di- 
rected, this  will  prove  a  golden  period  for  the  manual-training 
teacher.  The  manual  training  may  be  based  largely  upon 
the  constructive  and  other  play  interests  of  the  child,  and 
should  correlate  with  nature  study,  as  previously  suggested, 


PERIOD  FOUR 


159 


and  with  physical  training,  as  m  the  making  of  gymnastic 
apparatus  and  toys.  Suggestive  lines  of  constructive  interests 
at  this  age  are  huts,  tree  houses ;  box  traps ;  hsMng  tackle, 
tish  nets,  bait  cages ;  insect  nets,  mounting  boards,  develop- 
ing cages,  vivaria,  aquaria,  ants'  nests ;  squirrel  cages,  rabbit 
pens ;  bird  houses ;  kites ;  toy  sailboats ;  bows  and  arrows, 
slings ;  sleds,  "  scooters,"  double-runners,  skate  sails,  coasts 
and  skating  ponds ;  snow  forts,  snow  houses ;  snowplows ; 
cricket  bats,  tipcats  and  clubs;  jumping  standards,  hurdles, 
horizontal  bar,  springboard, 
stilts  ;  rafts,  catamaran  ;  toy 
railway;  sewing,  fancy 
needlework  ;  doll  millinery ; 
paper  dolls  and  doll  dresses ; 
knitting,  crocheting,  weav- 
ing ;  cooking ;  pottery.  The 
relation  of  seasons  and 
calendar  days  to  interests 
should  be  noted. 

Games  of  chasing,  hunt- 
ing, throwing,  shooting. 

The  followmg  games  of  chasing,  hunting,  throwing,  shoot-- 
ing,  fighting,  are  of  special  interest  at  this  period  and  are 
adapted  to  the  peculiar  physical  needs  at  this  time.  Tliey 
involve  great  physical  activity  and  strength,  speed  and  skill, 
which  are  displayed  individually  rather  than  in  concerted 
action,  although  cooperation  is  frequently  involved.  They 
are  peculiarly  adapted  to  further  the  development  of  the 
finer  motor  adjustments  and  the  coordination  of  muscular 
action  ^vith  sense  judgments,  which  it  is  the  special  office  of 
this  period  to  develop. 


Prize  Bird  Houses 
Voluuteer  home  work 


160 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


J 


^' 


t 


Frisouers  Base.  Sides  are  chosen.  Each  side  has  a  goal 
or  base  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  whole  side  at  once, 
also  a  prison  in  the  corner  of  the  yard,  diagonally  opposite 
the  goal.  The  object  of  the  game  is  to  tag  and  place  in 
prison  the  players  of  the  opposing  side.  Any  player  who  is 
l)eyond  the  bounds  of  his  goal  may  be  tagged  by  one  of  the 

opposing  side  who  left  goal 
later  than  he.  When  tagged 
the  player  is  placed  in 
prison,  the  tagger  being 
allowed  to  return  to  his 
goal.  A  prisoner  may  be 
released  if  one  of  his  own 
side  can  succeed  in  reaching 
him  without  being  tagged, 
both  then  being  allowed  to 
return  to  their  base ;  but 
if  the  runner  is  tagged  in 
the  attempt  to  release  his 
mate,  he  must  himself  go 
to  prison.  The  side  that 
succeeds  in  placing  all  the 
players  of  the  opposing  side 
in  prison  wins.  Prisoners' 
]>ase  is  sometimes  nuxlitied  l)y  an  agreement  to  terminate 
the  game  whenever  a  player  succeeds  in  getting  into  his 
opponents'  goal  without  being  tagged,  thereby  scoring  a 
victory  for  Ids  side. 

Hill  Dill.  This  game,  whicli  was  descril)e(l  on  page  103, 
continues  to  be  of  great  interest  and  value  in  this  period, 
especially  when  played  on  the  ice. 


Volunteer  Natlike   Wokk 
Photograph  by  C.  A.  Piitiiam 


PERIOD  FOLK 


161 


Bull  in  the  Riiuj.  A  circle  is  formed  al)out  the  bull, 
all  taking  strong  hold  of  hands.  The  bull  tries  to  break 
through  the  ring.  If  he  is  successful  all  give  chase,  the  one 
catching  Mm  becoming  the  next  bull.  Sometimes  the  bull, 
before  attempting  to  break  through,  asks  of  each  pair  hold- 
iDsr  hands,  "  What  is  this  ?  "  to  which  various  answers  are 
given,  as  "Tempered  steel,"  "Hemp  rope,"  "Barbed  wire,"  etc. 


iSliLhl'tol.t.) 


Sheep/old.  A  ring  is  formed  as  in  Bull  in  the  Ring,  a  sheep 
inside  and  a  wolf  outside.  The  wolf  tries  to  break  into  the 
ring  through  the  joined  hands  or  by  ducking  under  them.  If 
he  succeeds  the  sheep  is  let  out,  but  the  circle  closes  to  hinder 
the  wolf.  If  the  wolf  succeeds  in  catching  the  sheep,  the  boy 
who.  let  the  wolf  pass  must  be  wolf  and  his  companion  the 
sheep.     This  game  is  sometimes  called  Cat  and  Eat. 

Center  Base.  One  player  stands  in  the  center  of  the  ring 
\Nith  a  ball,  wliich  lie  tosses  at  some  child  in  the  circh'.    The 


1G2  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

child  catching  the  hall  runs  and  phices  it  in  the  center,  and 
then  gives  chase  to  the  one  who  threw  it.  If  he  can  tag  liiiu 
before  he  returns  and  touches  the  hall,  the  tagger  becomes 
thrower ;  otherwise  the  first  child  throws  again. 

Fox  and  Farmer.  In  this  game  the  farmer,  starting  from 
outside  the  circle,  gives  chase  to  the  fox,  who  starts  from  the 
center.  The  fox  runs  in  and  out  l)etween  the  cliildren,  and 
the  farmer  must  follow  in  exactly  the  same  path. 

Green  Wolf,  or  Hunkety.  This  is  played  like  I  Spy,  except 
that  a  stick  is  placed  at  the  goal,  which  may  be  kicked  down 
by  any  one  who  succeeds  in  reaching  the  goal  without  being 
"  spied,"  thereby  releasing  those  who  have  been  caught,  pro- 
vided they  can  get  out  of  sight  before  the  l)linder  has  replaced 
the  stick  at  the  goal.  The  blinder  may  tag  his  goal  only  in 
case  the  stick  is  up.  The  new  game  begins  after  all  are  in, 
the  first  one  caught  being  "  it."  "  Green  wolf ! "  is  the  cry  of 
the  player  who  kicks  down  the  stick. 

Wolf.  In  this  game  the  wolf  hides  and  the  other  players 
remain  at  the  goal.  After  a  proper  interval  the  search  for 
the  wolf  begms.  This  is  usually  heralded  by  a  si  i out,  as 
"  Coming  !  Say  notliing  !  "  If  the  wolf  is  not  ready  he  cries, 
"  Ko  ! "  If  he  makes  no  answer,  the  search  continues.  When 
tlie  wolf  is  discovered,  the  player  first  seeing  him  shouts 
"  Wolf ! "  and  all  rush  for  the  goal.  If  the  wolf  succeeds  in 
tagging  any  runner  before  he  can  get  to  the  goal,  that  player 
must  also  be  a  wolf.  The  game  continues  until  all  are  wolves. 
The  wolves  may  all  hide  together.  If  he  desires,  a  wolf  may 
start  out  for  the  goal  before  he  is  discovered.  If  he  reaches  the 
goal  first,  he  has  a  good  chance  to  touch  a  number  of  players. 

Relievo.  Sides  are  chosen  and  a  circular  goal  is  marked  out. 
One  side  scatters  and  hides,  whil6  the  other  side  goes  to  hunt, 


PERIOD  FOUR  163 

excepting  one  or  more  who  may  1)6  left  to  guard  the  goal. 
\Vhen  a  member  of  the  hiding  party  is  discovered  and  tagged, 
he  is  placed  in  the  goal.  He  may  be  released  if  one  of  his 
side  can  succeed  in  reaching  him  without  being  tagged.  If 
all  are  caught  the  game  is  renewed,  the  hunters  becoming 
the  hiders. 

Day  and  Night.  Sides  are  chosen,  each  side  selectmg  a 
goal.  All  take  their  places  nndway  between  the  goals.  The 
leader  tosses  in  the  air  a  disk  (or  coin)  black  on  one  side, 
white  on  the  other.  If  white  comes  uppermost,  the  "  day  " 
players  rush  for  their  goal,  the  "night"  players  pursuing. 
Those  who  are  caught  before  reaching  their  goal  are  out  of 
the  game.  The  remaining  players  take  their  places  as  before, 
the  disk  is  thrown,  and  the  chase  is  given.  When  all  the  play- 
ers on  one  side  are  caught,  the  other  side  is  declared  winner. 

Fox.  The  one  who  is  the  fox  has  a  den  marked  out  on  the 
ground.  The  other  players  use  knotted  handkerchiefs,  pom- 
meling the  fox  whenever  he  is  out  of  his  den  and  has  put 
both  feet  on  the  ground.  If  the  fox,  while  hopping  on  one 
foot,  can  succeed  in  tagging  one  of  his  tormentors,  the  one 
tagged  nuist  become  the  fox.  The  fox  may  be  struck  only 
when  he  is  outside  his  den,  and  then  only  when  he  has  b}" 
some  mishap,  or  otherwise,  placed  both  feet  on  the  ground, 
in  which  case  he  may  be  pommeled  back  to  his  den. 

Sliiuj  the  Monhey.  Similar  to  Fox.  The  monkey  is  tied  to 
the  limb  of  a  tree,  or  something  of  the  sort,  by  a  rope  fastened 
about  his  waist,  his  feet  barely  touching  the  grormd.  He  lias 
a  knotted  handkercliief  like  the  rest,  and  if  he  can  succeed  in 
hitting  one  of  the  other  players,  that  one  must  be  the  monkey. 

Baste  the  Bear.  This  is  also  similar  to  Fox.  The  bear 
has  a  rope   about  his  leg,  which   is  held  by   a  companion 


164  EDUCATION  BY  PJvAYS  AND  GAMES 

wlu)  acts  as  protector.  The  ])ear  keeper  has  a  knotted 
handkerchief  and  strikes  at  the  players  who  try  to  hit  the 
bear.  The  bear  must  keep  part  of  his  body  in  his  den  and 
remain  on  his  hands  and  knees,  but  may  aid  his  keeper  in 
any  way  that  he  can.  If  the  keeper  succeeds  in  hitting  any 
player,  that  player  takes  the  bear's  place. 

Ho2)ping  Bases.  Sides  are  chosen  and  bases  marked  out. 
The  sides  line  up  within  their  respective  bases,  fold  their 
arms,  and  hop  toward  the  other  side,  trying  to  make  their 
way  into  their  opponents'  base,  but  preventing  their  oppo- 
nents from  getting  mto  theirs.  When  one  succeeds  in  reach- 
ing the  enemy's  base,  he  puts  the  opponent  who  was  opposite 
him  out  of  the  game  and  may  return  to  help  his  companions. 
The  arms  may  not  be  unfolded  at  any  time,  and  whoever 
drops  a  foot  to  the  ground  is  out.  The  side  getting  possession 
of  the  other's  base  wins. 

Follo'w  tJie  Leader.  This  game  has  been  previously  described, 
but  is  adapted  to  this  period  when  an  ingenious  and  active 
leader  can  be  found. 

Whip  Tag.  The  players  stand  in  a  circle  with  hands  behind 
the  back.  One  carries  a  knotted  cloth  or  stuffed  billy  around 
the  circle,  placing  it  in  the  hands  of  some  player.  The  player 
receiving  the  billy  immediately  turns  upon  his  right-hand 
neighbor  and  drives  him  round  the  circle  and  back  to  Ms 
place,  hitting  him  as  many  times  as  he  is  able.  He  then 
places  the  billy  in  the  hands  of  some  other  player  and  the 
game  goes  on. 

Cross  Tag.  The  tagger  names  the  one  whom  he  will  chase. 
The  one  who  is  chased  may  be  relieved  by  any  one  who 
passes  between  him  and  the  tagger,  who  must  then  give  chase 
to  the  one  who  has  relieved  the  runner.    This  continues  until 


PElllOI)  FOUll 


165 


some  one  is  tagged.    He  then  names  one  whom  lie  will  try 
to  tag,  and  gives  chase. 

Hang  Tag.  In  this  game  no  one  may  be  tagged  who  is 
hanguig  from  any  ol)ject  with  his  wdiole  body  free  from  the 
ground  or  floor.  No  two  players  may  hang  from  the  same 
object,  the  one  coming  last  forcing  the  first  to  drop. 

Folloiv  Tag.  The  players  are  all  numbered  from  one  up  to 
as  many  as  are  playing.  Each  tries  to  tag  the  one  ahead,  l)ut 
tries  to  keep  from  being  tagged  by  the  one 
behind ;  that  is,  number  two  tries  to  tag 
number  one,  but  tries  to  escape  being 
tagged  by  number  three. 

Fox  and  Geese.    A  lai'ge  square  or  cir- 
cle, such  as  is  shown  in  the  accompanying 
diagrams,  is  trodden  out  in  the  snow  or 
marked  on  the  clear  ice  with  skates. 
The  fox  is  stationed  in  the   center 
and  the  geese  are  scattered  about.    The 
fox  tries  to  tag  the  geese,  but  may 
not  run   on   the   circular   lines,   or,   if 
a  square  field  is  used,  may  run  only 
on  certain  lines  agreed  upon.    When 
one  is  tagged  he  becomes  the  fox. 

Hunting  Tag.  One  is  a  hunter  and  the  others  are  rab- 
bits. The  hunter  must  catch  and  hold  a  rabbit  long  enough 
to  give  it  three  slaps.  The  rabbit  then  becomes  a  hound 
and  helps  the  hunter. .  The  hunter  can  then  tag  only 
when  the  hound  catches  and  holds  a  rabbit.  Each  rabbit 
caught  becomes  a  hound,  the  game  continuing  until  all  are 
caught.  The  first  rabbit  caught  becomes  the  hunter  in  the 
new  ffame. 


\ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

\ 

166 


EDUCATION   15 Y   PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Twos  and  TJirces,  or  Tliree  Deep.  The  players  are  arranged 
in  two  circles,  those  in  the  outer  circle  standing  directly 
behind  those  in  the  inner  circle  and  close  to  them.  One 
player  is  tagger  and  another  is  runner.  The  tagger  attempts 
to  tag  the  runner,  who  may  take  liis  place  in  front  of  any 
two  players  of  the  circles,  whereupon  the  player  in  the  outer 


m     1 

lb 

wij^E_™  "  '             it^- 

■     :.-^^^al|H 

c  j^ 

11 

Twos    AND    TlIUKES 


circle,  in  front  of  whom  the  runner  has  stationed  himself, 
becomes  the  runner.  If  a  runner  is  tagged  he  becomes  tagger, 
and  the  former  tagger  becomes  the  ruiuier. 

Hare  and  Hound.  One  or  two  players  are  the  hares,  the 
others  are  the  hounds.  The  hares  are  supplied  with  small 
scraps  of  paper,  which  they  scatter  for  the  scent.  The  hares 
start  out,  and  as  soon  as  they  are  out  of  sight  they  begin  to  scat- 
ter the  scent.  After  the  time  fixed  by  agreement  has  elapsed 
the  liounds  give  chase,  following  the  scent.  The  game  may  be 
finished  after  a  given  time  has  elapsed  or  after  a  certain  terri- 
tory or  distance  has  been  run  over,  as  previously  agreed  upon. 
If  a  hound  catches  a  hare  befoi-e  the  game  ends,  the  hounds 
win;  if  not,  the  hares  win.    If  (lie  liounds  catch  sight  of  the 


PERIOD  FOUR  167 

hares  during  the  chase  they  ma}-  leave  the  scent  only  in 
case  it  has  been  previously  agreed  that  they  may  do  so.  The 
hares  may  not  separate  beyond  hailing  distance  at  any  time. 

Chalk  the  Arroiv.  This  is  a  variation  of  Hare  and  Hoinid, 
and  is  a  simpler  game.  For  the  scent,  the  runner  chalks  each 
corner  that  he  turns  with  an  arrow  pointing  in  the  direction 
that  he  takes. 

Racing.  For  sharj^)  running,  a  course  of  about  sixty  yards 
should  be  laid  out  for  boys  of  this  period.  The  standard  set 
for  boys  under  tliirteen  years  of  age  by  the  Public  Schools 
Athletic  League  is  eight  and  three-fifths  seconds  for  a  sixty- 
yard  run. 

Belay  Race.  Teams  of  four  runners  each  line  up.  At  the 
signal  one  runner  from  each  team  starts  and,  upon  complet- 
ins^  the  course,  touches  the  second  runner  of  his  team,  who 
instantly  takes  up  the  race  in  place  of  the  first,  and  so  on 
until  the  last  runner  of  each  team  has  started.  The  team 
which  has  the  fourth  runner  in  first  wins  the  race.  This  is 
easily  played  in  a  schoolroom,  the  aisles  bemg  utilized  for 
the  course,  only  two  teams  racing  at  once. 

Potato  Race.  Potatoes  or  other  objects  are  placed  at  inter- 
vals along  the  race  course  in  as  many  lines  as  there  are 
racers.  At  the  signal  the  runners  start  and  gather  up  the 
potatoes,  one  at  a  time,  and  place  them  in  a  basket  or  other 
receptacle  provided  for  the  purpose.  The  one  who  picks  up 
all  the  potatoes  and  returns  to  the  starting  place  first  wins. 
This  may  be  played  in  the  schoolroom,  aisles  serving  for 
the  courses.  In  this  case  several  blocks,  or  other  objects 
serving  as  potatoes,  are  placed  in  a  pile  at  one  end  of  each 
aisle.  At  the  signal  the  runners  race,  down  the  aisles,  return- 
ing with  one  block  at  a  time,  which  they  place  in  circles 


168 


EDUCATION  BY  TLAYS  AND  GAMES 


marked  on  the  floor  at  the  head  of  their  respective  aisles. 
This  may  be  played  also  after  the  manner  of  a  relay  race. 
In  that  case,  as  soon  as  a  runner  has  gathered  all  the  blocks 


l\)TATo  Kack  in  tiiic  Sciiooi.  Yaud 


he  returns  to  his  seat.  As  soon  as  he  has  done  so  the  second 
pupil  in  his  row  instantly  starts  to  carry  the  objects  back  to 
the  original  place.  The  third  ]iuj>il  then  instantly  takes  up 
the  race,  and  so  cjn.    The  row  linishing  lirst  wins. 


PERIOD  FOUR  169 

Ohstacle  Race.  This  may  be  greatly  varied.  The  course 
is  marked  ovit  and  various  tasks  or  "  stunts  "  are  set  for  the 
runners  to  do  on  the  way. 

Fireman's  Race.  A  cart  or  pair  of  wheels  is  provided  for 
each  team,  which  consists  of  any  convenient  number  of  players. 
All  the  members  of  each  team  take  hold  of  the  rope  attached 
to  their  cart.  The  teams  race  to  see  which  can  draw  its  cart 
over  the  course  quickest.  It  is  best  to  run  several  teams  at 
once,  if  possible ;  otherwise  each  team  must  be  timed. 

Chariot  Race.  The  runners  race  in  pairs  with  arms  locked. 
The  one  breaking  hold  loses  the  race.  If  desired,  three  or 
four  may  lock  arms. 

Jilieelharrow  Race.  One  runner  in  each  pair  must  be  a 
wheelbarrow,  running  on  his  hands,  his  feet  being  held  by 
his  mate.  The  one  getting  his  wheelbarrow  over  the  line 
first  wins. 

Hojjping  Race.  The  racers  hop  on  either  the  right  foot  or  the 
left,  as  desired.    The  foot  may  not  be  changed  after  starting. 

Jumping  Race.  The  racers  jump  over  the  course ;  no  steps 
are  allowed  to  be  taken. 

Baseball.  Eegulation  baseball  is  attempted  in  this  period, 
but  very  commonly  the  game  is  modified  more  or  less.  The 
ball  games  described  under  the  previous  period  are  of  interest ; 
also  games  like  Kick  the  Ball  and  Hit  the  Stick,  described 
on  pages  178  and  179. 

Town  Ball.  This  is  a  variation  of  Baseball.  Sides  are 
chosen.  Pitcher  and  catcher  are  the  only  regularly  assigned 
positions,  the  other  players  being  scattered  about  the  field. 
A  Ixitter  is  out  if  he  misses  a  strike  and  the  ball  is  caught 
by  the  catcher;  if  he  misses  three  strikes;  if  a  fly  is  caught; 
if  the  ball  is  fielded  between  him  and  the  base  to  which  he  is 


170 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


running.  A  side  is  out  when  all  its  players  have  been  put  out. 
Wlien  all  but  one  batter  are  out,  the  last  batter  is  allowed 
to  call  in  one  of  his  side,  provided  he  can  make  three  runs. 
He  is  allowed  to  call  upon  one  of  his  side  to  run  for  him. 

Duch  on  a  Rock.  Each  player  has  a  smooth  stone  of  con- 
venient size,  called  a  duck.  A  large  flat  stone  or  block  is 
found.  All  pitch  their  ducks  at  the  stone  from  some  lino 
agreed  upon.    The  one  wliose  duck  lands  farthest  away  from 


Playing  Ball  o\  a  I^oof  Gauuen 


the  stone  is  "  it."  He  places  his  duck  on  the  stone  and  the 
others  pitch  their  ducks  at  it,  trying  to  knock  it  off.  The  one 
who  is  "  it "  tries  to  tag  any  player  who  picks  up  his  duck 
after  throwing  it.  If  he  succeeds  in  tagging  a  player  before  he 
can  get  back  to  the  line  with  his  duck,  the  one  tagged  must 
be  "  it."  No  one  may  l)e  tagged,  however,  wliile  the  duck  is  off 
the  stone.  This  game  may  he,  played  with  bean  bags  in  the 
school  loom.  The  duck  is  then  placed  upon  a  desk  or  a  box. 
Rolhj-Pooly.  A  teiuiis  l)all  is  needed  for  this  game.  As 
many  holes  as  there  are  pla}'ers  are  dug  in  the  ground.  One 
player  is  chosen  roller,  the  others  standing  within  a  certain 


PERIOD  FOUR  171 

distance  from  the  holes.  The  roller,  at  a  distance  of  about 
fifteen  feet,  tries  to  roll  the  ball  into  one  of  the  holes.  If  he 
misses  after  three  trials,  he  has  a  j^ebble  placed  in  his  hole. 
If  he  succeeds,  the  one  into  whose  hole  the  ball  is  rolled  picks 
it  up  quickly  and  throws  it  at  some  one  of  the  players,  who 
have  scattered.  If  he  hits  one,  that  one  must  have  a  pebble 
]ilaced  in  his  hole  and  he  must  become  roller.  If  no  one 
is  hit,  the  thrower  has  a  pebble  placed  in  his  hole  and  he 
becomes  roller.  When  a  player  has  three  pebbles  in  his  hole 
he  must  stand  at  a  given  distance  and  let  all  the  others  throw 
the  ball  at  his  back. 

Crackaho'iU.  This  is  a  very  lively  game  for  a  short  recess. 
A  soft  ball  is  used,  but  it  should  be  hard  enough  to  sting  a 
little  when  a  boy  is  hit  fairly  with  it.  The  boy  having  posses- 
sion of  the  ball  shouts,  "  Crackabout ! "  and  throws  it  at  the 
nearest  player.  All  rush  to  get  the  ball  and  scatter  again  as 
s()(jn  as  some  l)oy  gets  it.  The  boy  who  succeeds  in  getting 
the  ball  quickly  throws  it  at  some  one,  whereupon  all  rush 
together  again  to  get  possession  of  it.  This  is  continued  until 
all  are  out  of  breath.    A  modification  is  Spud. 

Spud.  In  this  game  the  one  who  has  the  ball  calls  out  the 
name  of  one  of  the  other  players,  at  the  same  time  dropping 
the  ball.  The  one  called  gets  the  ball  as  quickly  as  possible 
and  throws  it  at  some  other  player ;  if  he  hits  him,  that  player 
throws  it  at  some  one  else,  and  so  on  until  a  miss  is  made. 
A  miss  is  called  a  spud,  and  three  spuds  against  a  player 
entitle  all  the  others  to  throw  the  ball  at  him  at  a  distance 
agreed  upon.  After  a  miss  tlie  one  who  misses  starts  the 
game  over  as  in  the  beginning. 

Corner  Ball.  Sides  are  cliosen  and  half  as  many  bases  or 
corners  selected  as  there  are  players.    One  side  occupies  tlie 


172  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

bases  and  the  other  side  the  field  within  the  bases.  Tlie 
players  at  the  bases  have  the  ball  and  pass  it  about  among 
themselves,  waiting  for  a  good  chance  to  hit  one  of  the  players 
in  the  field.  A  player  who  is  hit  is  put  out  of  the  game,  but 
if  he  catches  the  ball  he  is  not  out.  If  a  player  throws  the 
ball  at  an  opponent  and  fails  to  hit  him,  he  is  out.  When 
all  on  one  side  are  out  the  victors  line  up  at  a  given  distance 
and  throw  the  ball  in  turn  at  the  first  player  who  was  put 
out.    A  modification  of  this  game  is  Dodge  Ball. 

Dodge  Ball.  Half  the  players  form  a  circle,  the  other  half 
standing  within  the  circle.  The  players  forming  the  circle 
throw  the  ball  at  those  within  the  circle.  Whoever  is  hit 
must  take  his  place  with  those  forming  the  circle.  The  last 
player  left  in  the  circle  is  the  winner.  Sometimes  it  is  allow- 
able to  catch  the  ball  instead  of  dodging  it,  but  a  fair  catch 
must  be  made  or  it  counts  against  the  player  attempting  it. 
This  game  is  easily  adapted  to  the  schoolroom. 

Balloon  Ball.  This  is  a  modification  of  Pillow  Dex,  and  is 
a  good  game  for  the  schoolroom.  A  large,  very  light  ball  or 
balloon  is  used.  Sides  are  chosen.  A  line  or  an  aisle  separates 
the  two  sides.  The  object  of  the  game  is  to  prevent  the 
ball  from  falling  in  one's  own  territory.  AVlienever  the  ball 
touches  the  floor  it  counts  against  the  side  in  whose  territory 
it  falls.  The  ball  may  be  batted  with  the  hand  only  and 
upward  only. 

Keep  Ball.  Sides  are  chosen.  The  side  having  possession 
of  the  ball  attempts  to  pass  it  about  witliout  letting  the  other 
side  get  possession  of  it.  Tripping  or  catching  hold  of  a 
player  is  not  allowed. 

Drive  Ball.  This  may  be  played  as  a  kicking  game  with 
a  football  or  as  a  batting  game  witli  a  baseball.    Two  or 


PERIOD  FOUR  17a 

any  multiple  of  two  may  play.  In  the  batting  game  the  sides 
are  stationed  at  some  distance  apart.  One  takes  the  ball  and 
bats  it  as  far  as  possible  toward  the  limit  of  his  opponent's 
field,  over  which  he  wishes  to  drive  the  ball.  His  opponent 
or  opponents  catch  or  stop  the  ball  as  best  they  can.  At  the 
point  at  which  it  was  caught  or  stopped  it  is  batted  back. 
The  game  continues  until  one  side  makes  a  goal  by  batting 
the  ball  over  the  limit  of  the  opponent's  field.  The  sides  then 
change  fields.  In  the  kicking  game  the  ball  is  punted  back 
and  fourth. 

Tipcat.  The  cat  is  a  short  j^iece  of  wood  or  broom  handle, 
five  or  six  inches  in  length.  It  is  sharpened  at  both  ends. 
One  player  stands  withm  a  circle,  and  with  another  stick  or 
bat  of  convenient  size  strikes  the  cat  on  the  end,  making  it 
fly  into  the  air.  Before  it  falls  to  the  ground  the  batter 
knocks  it  as  far  as  he  can.  If  the  cat  faUs  within  the  circle, 
the  batter  is  out  and  another  takes  his  place.  If  the  batter 
makes  a  fair  knock,  he  guesses  how  many  bat  lengths  he  has 
sent  the  cat,  that  number  being  added  to  liis  score.  However, 
if  his  guess  is  too  high,  as  shown  upon  measurement,  he  is 
out.  The  one  having  the  highest  score  after  a  certain  number 
of  rounds  wins.  The  game  may  be  greatly  varied.  Some- 
times the  batter  measures  the  distance  by  jumps  ;  sometimes 
sides  are  chosen.  In  the  latter  case  as  many  holes  are  made 
as  there  are  players  on  a  side.  These  holes  are  made  equally 
distant  apart  and  in  the  form  of  a  circle.  One  side  takes 
position,  one  player  at  each  hole,  the  other  side  forming 
outside  tlie  circle.  One  ])layer  "  tips  "  the  cat  from  his  hole 
and  all  run,  the  object  being  for  each  player  to  get  to  the 
next  hole  before  the  other  side  can  return  the  cat  between 
any  two  holes.    If  this  is  successfullv  done,  the  side  at  tlie 


174  EDUCATION  IJY  PLAYS   AND  GAMES 

bat  scores  a  run ;  if  not,  the  side  is  out.  The  side  scoring 
the  greatest  number  of  runs  wins. 

Quoits.  Two'  stakes  are  driven  into  the  ground  at  a  con- 
venient pitching  distance  from  each  other.  The  quoits  may  be 
iron  disks,  horseshoes,  or  anything  convenient.  The  players 
stand  at  one  stake  and  pitch  their  quoits,  two  in  numljer,  at 
the  other  stake.  The  player  whose  quoit  comes  nearest  the 
stake  scores  a  point.  If  both  his  quoits  are  nearer  than  either 
of  his  opponent's,  he  scores  two  points.  The  player  first  scor- 
ing a  certain  number  of  points  agreed  upon  wms.  Any  num- 
ber may  play,  Init  usually  the  numljer  is  two  or  four. 

Ringtoss.    Described  on  page  111. 

Faba  Gaba.    Described  on  page  110. 

Ring  Ball.  As  many  bases  as  there  are  players,  less  one, 
are  arranged  in  a  circle  of  convenient  size.  The  bases  may 
be  of  small  stones,  sticks,  or  anything  to  mark  the  loca- 
tion. A  tennis  ball  or  an  indoor  baseball  is  used.  Some  one 
throws  the  ball  in  the  air.  The  player  nearest  whom  it 
stops  takes  his  place  witliin  the  circle.  The  player  who  was 
nearest  him  on  his  right  takes  the  ball  and  throws  it  at 
the  player  in  the  circle.  If  he  fails  to  hit  him,  he  must  also 
take  his  place  within  the  circle ;  if  he  does  hit  him,  all  scat- 
ter. Meanwhile  the  player  who  was  within  the  circle  gets 
the  ball,  and  as  quickly  as  he  has  done  so,  cries,  "  Halt ! " 
All  must  stop  instantly.  He  then  throws  the  baU  at  some 
player  who,  if  hit,  must  also  take  his  place  within  the  circle, 
the  rest  returning  to  their  bases.  The  one  who  gets  the  ball 
throws  it  at  the  })la}'ers  within  the  circle,  as  before.  The 
game  continues  until  only  one  player  is  left  outside  the 
(■ii(  Ic.  He  then  throws  the  ball  at  the  players,  who  try  to 
hit  him   in   return.    He   may  then  run  back  and  forth  at 


rKIMQ])  FOUR  175 

will,  l)ut  the  others  may  not  leave  the  cn-cle.  As  soon  as 
a  player  is  hit  he  is  out  of  the  game.  If  the  player  outside 
the  circle  is  hit,  the  game  begins  over  again.  When  all  are 
out  of  the  game  a  new  game  begins,  the  one  outside  the 
circle  being  declared  the  winner. 

Grace  Hoops,  or  Graces.  Each  player  has  two  sticks,  round 
and  smooth,  slightly  tapered,  and  three  or  four  feet  long.  By 
means  of  these,  hoops  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  in  dianieter 
are  tossed  from  one  to  another  and  caught  upon  the  sticks. 
The  game  may  be  greatly  varied  and  is  a  very  graceful  and 
valuable  exercise.  The  sticks  and  hoops  can  easily  be  made 
l)y  the  children.  The  hoops  may  l)e  shot  at  a  stake  fixed 
either  vertically  or  horizontally,  or  through  a  larger  hoop,  as 
in  the  game  of  Belle  Cycle. 

Wicket.  This  game  bears  the  same  relation  to  Cricket  that 
Bound  Ball  bears  to  Baseball.  A  wicket  is  improvised.  ()ne 
])layer  is  batter  and  the  rest  are  distributed  in  the  different 
positions.  The  batter  is  out  when  the  wicket  is  down,  the 
})la}'ers  moving  up  in  order,  as  in  Bound  Ball. 

Shinney.  This  is  a  modification  of  Hockey  or  Bolo.  A 
field  is  marked  off,  according  to  convenience,  with  goal  lines 
and  side  lines.  The  players  are  provided  with  sliinney  sticks 
or  hockeys.  The  object  of  the  game  is  to  drive  the  small 
wooden  or  hard  rubber  ball  over  the  enemy's  goal  line. 

American  FoothaU.  Goal  lines  and  side,  or  foul,  lines  are 
agreed  upon.  A  large  rul)])er  ball  is  used.  The  side  that 
has  the  kick-off  kicks  the  ball  from  the  center  of  the  field 
toward  the  enemy's  goal.  The  ball  may  be  kicked,  batted 
forward,  tossed  or  thrown  backward,  but  only  a  kicked  goal 
counts.  There  may  be  no  tripping  or  holding  of  a  player, 
but  any  player  running  with  the  ball  may  be  jostled.    The 


176  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

ball  may  be  run  with,  if  it  is  held  free  from  tlie  body  in  one 
hand  only.  When  a  goal  is  kicked  the  sides  change  goals. 
When  a  foul  is  declared  the  ball  is  tossed  upward  by  some 
player  agreed  upon  at  the  point  where  the  foul  was  made. 

Battle  for  the  Banner.  One  side  takes  possession  of  a  part 
of  the  pla}-ground,  preferably  a  slightly  elevated  portion,  and 
plants  a  bainier.  The  other  side  endeavors  to  get  possession 
of  it. 

Knights.  Sides  are  chosen.  The  stronger  half  of  each  side 
are  the  steeds,  the  others  are  the  knights.  When  all  are 
mounted  the  signal  is  given  and  the  opposing  parties  advance 
against  each  other,  the  riders  trying  to  unseat  their  enemies. 
M^hen  a  knight  is  off  his  horse  he  is  out  of  the  game.  The 
side  that  unseats  all  its  enemies  wins.  (This  should  be  played 
only  on  soft  ground  or  a  grassplot.) 

Modifications  of  the  most  familiar  group  or  team  games 
are  very  common  in  this  period.  These  games  are  well  known 
to  most  boys,  and  need  not  be  described  here.  Wlien  rules 
are  desired  they  may  be  obtained  from  Spaulding's  Athletic 
Library  or  from  books  of  a  similar  nature.  These  games 
include  Baseball,  Cricket,  Hockey,  Polo,  Basket  Ball,  Foot- 
ball, and  Lacrosse. 

To  the  above  may  be  added  the  following  familiar  games, 
which  are  common  in  this  period :  Tennis,  Handl)all,  Piug- 
Pong,  Tether-Ball,  Tenpins,  Eingtoss,  Quoits,  Golf,  Croquet, 
Bowling. 

Schoolroom  games.  A  great  many  of  the  games  described 
can  be  easily  adapted  to  limited  space,  as  the  schoolroom, 
small  gymnasium,  or  crowded  playground.  Many  chase  games 
and  ])all  games  can  be  played  in  the  schoolroom,  though  of 
course  a  large  playground  is  the  ideal.    To  suggest  how  the 


PERIOD  FOUR 


177 


standard  games  of  children  may  be  adapted,  when  necessary, 
to  limited  space,  the  following  games  are  here  descril)ed. 

Serpentine  Race.  A  good  racing  game  for  a  schoolroom 
is  the  following.  Several  Indian  clubs  are  placed  in  a  line 
with  one  of  the  aisles,  and  a  convenient  distance  apart.  The 
same  is  done  in  front  of  the  corresponding  aisle  on  the  other 
side  of  the  room.  The  children  choose  sides.  One  child 
from  each  side  runs  over  the  course  indicated  bv  the  teacher, 


^^^^^^^^^W^^.-"  • 


•^i^^ 


R 


Outdoor  Basket  Ball 


and  between  the  clults  and  back  again  to  the  wall.  Score  is 
kept,  each  child  who  wins  scoring  a  point  for  his  side.  If  a 
club  is  knocked  down,  it  must  be  replaced  by  the  runner 
before  going  farther.  The  side  scoring  the  most  points  wins. 
A  Tag  Game.  Make  a  chalk  mark  at  any  convenient 
place  on  the  floor.  The  tagger  stands  on  that  spot  and 
calls  some  one  by  name,  counting  ten  before  he  starts  in 
pursuit.  The  one  called  must  pass  over  the  place  marked 
Ijefore  he  returns  to  his  seat.  If  tagged  before  regaining  his 
seat,  he  must  be  "  it." 


178  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

It  will  readily  be  seen  how  relay  races,  potato  races,  hop- 
ping races,  games  of  tag,  such  as  Drop  the  Handkerchief, 
Witch  in  the  Jar,  Hopping  Bases,  Stealing  Sticks,  King's 
Land,  and  many  others,  can  he  rather  easily  adapted  to  a 
schoolroom. 

A  Ball  Game.  A  game  similar  to  Keep  Ball  may  be  played 
m  the  schoolroom.  Sides  are  chosen,  the  players  scattering 
in  the  aisles,  each  player  paired  (iff  with  an  opponent.  A 
soft  ball  or  bean  bag  is  used,  the  ol)ject  of  the  game  Ijeing  to 
pass  the  ball  about  among  the  players  of  one  side  without 
losing  possession  of  it  to  the  other  side. 

Dodge  Ball  and  Balloon  Ball,  described  on  page  172,  are 
also  good  illustrations. 

Such  games  as  Eingtoss,  Faba  Gaba,  or  Bean-Bag  Board, 
Tenpins,  Passing,  School  Ball,  Dodge  Ball,  A^olley  Ball,  and 
even  Basket  Ball  can  be  adapted  to  a  schoolroom ;  yet  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  too  many  restrictions  spoil  a 
game,  and  good  sense  must  determine  wdiat  games  to  attempt. 
Games  are  valuable  largely  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in 
which  they  involve  the  whole  child.  To  reduce  basket  ball 
to  a  game  of  passmg  bean  bags  down  a  line  and  tossing  them 
into  a  basket  at  the  end,  is  taking  away  the  essentials  of  the 
game.  So  far  as  possible,  these  schoolroom  games  should  in- 
volve the  whole  body  as  much  as  the  corresponding  play- 
ground games. 

A  good  illustration  of  the  adaptation  of  a  game  to  limited 
space  by  boys  is  seen  in  a  game  described  by  INIr.  Culin.  A 
game  called  Kick  the  Ball  is  really  baseball  played  without 
batting.  The  ball  is  kicked  from  the  home  plate  instead  of 
batted.  This  economizes  space  very  much,  as  it  permits  the 
fielders  to  play  in  much  nearer  the  home  plate  than  in  the 


PERIOD  FOUR  179 

case  of  baseball,  and  the  bases  may  be  nearer  together.  An- 
other game,  Hit  the  Stick,  played  at  the  intersection  of  two 
streets,  is  almost  identical  with  Kick  the  Ball,  except  that, 
instead  of  kicking  a  ball,  a  small  wooden  wicket  is  knocked 
in  the  air.  In  this  game  the  batter  balances  a  stick,  about 
three  inches  long  by  one  wide,  across  the  inner  end  of  another 
stick  some  ten  inches  in  length,  which  is  laid  so  as  to  extend 
about  three  fourths  of  its  length  beyond  the  edge  of  the  curb. 
He  then  strikes  the  projecting  end  a  sharp  blow  with  another 


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stick  about  three  feet  in  length,  which  he  holds  in  his  hands, 
so  that  the  smallest  stick  is  tossed  in  the  air.  The  game  pro- 
ceeds with  slight  variations  from  the  game  of  Baseball. 

Miscellaneous  games  for  physical  development.  These 
games  involve  mamly  a  trial  of  the  control  of  the  body,  of 
strength,  quickness,  and  skill.  They  are  mdividualistic  and 
highly  emulative.    They  include  the  follomng : 

Wrestling.  Under  proper  restrictions  wrestling  is  one  of 
the  most  valuable  sports  for  boys  of  this  age.  The  best  place 
for  wrestling  is  on  a  grassplot.  It  should  not  be  allowed  on 
hard  or  stony  ground.  Some  of  the  standard  forms  of  wrest- 
ling are  given  on  the  following  pages. 


180  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Side  Hold.  The  wrestlers  take  hold,  stainliiig  side  to  side, 
each  with  oue  arm  about  the  other's  waist  and  the  other  arm 
extended  in  front,  the  hand  clasping  the  opponent's. 

Bach  Hug.  The  wrestlers  stand  chest  to  chest,  each  with 
hands  locked  behind  the  other's  back. 

Collar  and  Elhoio.  The  wrestlers  stand  face  to  face,  one 
hand  grasping  the  collar  of  the  other's  coat,  the  other  hand 
clasping  the  opponent's  elbow. 

Catch  as  Catch  Can.  This  is  a  rough-and-tumble  style, 
such  restrictions  being  made  as  may  be  agreed  upon. 

Hand  Wrestle.  The  wrestlers  stand  with  right  foot  ad- 
vanced, clasping  right  hands.  The  object  is  to  make  one's 
opponent  move  a  foot  from  its  position  on  the  ground.  This 
constitutes  a  throw. 

Indian  Wrestle.  The  wrestlers  lie  upon  their  backs,  side 
by  side,  with  right  arms  locked,  feet  extending  in  opposite 
directions.  The  right  feet  are  raised  and  lowered  twice.  At 
the  third  raising  they  lock  heels  together  and  each  endeavors 
to  bring  his  opponent's  leg  down  to  the  ground,  thereby 
turning  him  upon  his  face. 

Knocking  off  Hats.  This  is  a  kind  of  sparring,  the  object 
being  to  knock  off  an  opponent's  hat.  It  is  a  good  preliminary 
to  boxing. 

Boxing.  Under  right  restrictions,  boxing  may  wisely  be 
introduced.    Use  loose,  soft  gloves. 

Dual  Contests. 

1.  Mark  out  a  circle  six  feet  in  diameter.  Two  stand 
within  the  circle,  clasping  hands  or  wrists.  Each  endeavors 
to  push  his  opponent  from  the  circle.  Pulling  may  be  allowed 
if  desired.  Several  circles  may  be  drawn  and  sides  chosen. 
The  side  having  the  larger  number  of  pla}Hn's  left  in  the 


TERIOD  FOUR  181 

circles  wiiis  ;  or  tlie  game  may  coutiiiiie  until  onl}'  one  player 
is  left  in  possession  of  a  circle. 

2.  The  game  may  be  varied  by  drawing  two  parallel  lines 
six  or  more  feet  apart.  The  sides  stand  within  the  lines, 
facing  each  other.  At  a  signal  each  player  endeavors  to  push 
his  opponent  outside  the  lines.  When  a  player  succeeds  in 
doing  this  both  he  and  his  opponent  are  out  of  the  game. 
Wlien  all  are  out  count  is  made  to  see  which  side  had  the 
most  victories. 

3.  A  large  circle  is  marked  off.  The  players  choose  sides 
and  all  station  themselves  w^ithin  the  circle.  Three  minutes 
are  given  to  play.  Each  player  tries  to  force  an  opponent 
out  of  the  circle.  When  one  is  forced  out  he  must  remain 
out,  but  his  opponent  may  now  turn  to  help  his  mates.  The 
side  having  most  players  in  the  circle  at  the  end  of  three 
ndnutes  wins. 

4.  Two  take  hold  of  a  stick  and  each  tries  to  twist  it  from 
the  other. 

Coclxjlglit.  A  circle  is  drawn  upon  the  floor.  Two  players 
squat  within  it  and  place  a  stick  under  their  knees,  the 
arms  under  the  stick  and  the  hands  clasped  in  front  of  tlie 
knees.    Each  then  endeavors  to  tip  liis  opponent  over. 

Pulling  Sticks.  Two  sit  upon  the  floor,  toes  against  toes. 
A  broom  handle  is  grasped  by  the  players  and  at  the  signal 
each  tries  to  pull  the  other  up  from  the  floor. 

Twisting  Sticks.  Two  grasp  a  broom  handle  high  over  their 
heads.  At  the  word  the  stick  must  be  brought  down  between 
them,  thereby  twisting  within  the  hands  of  one  of  the  players. 

Push  Pole.  Two  stand  within  a  small  ring  marked  upon 
the  floor,  grasping  a  short  pole.  At  the  signal  each  attempts 
to  force  the  other  to  step  outside  the  ring. 


182 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  CxAMES 


Knuckle  Down.  Place  the  toes  against  a  chalk  line,  and 
kneel  down  and  rise  again  without  help  of  the  hands  and 
without  moving  the  toes  from  the  line. 

The  Palm  Spring.  Stand  at  some  distance  from  and  facing 
the  wall.    Lean  forward,  supporting  the  body  with  the  palm  of 

the  hand  against  the  wall. 
Now  spring  back  to  place 
without  moving  the  feet. 

Prostrate  and  Perpendic- 
ular. Fold  the  arms  across 
the  breast,  lie  down  on  the 
back,  and  get  up  again 
without  using  the  elbows 
or  hands. 

The  Finger  Feat.  Place 
the  liands  horizontally 
across  the  breast,  the  mid- 
dle lingers  touching  tips. 
Let  some  one  attempt  to 
draw  the  fingers  apart  l)y 
a  steady  pull. 

Trial  of  the  Thum.k 
This  is  similar  to  the  Palm 
Spring,  but  the  thumb  in- 
stead of  the  palm  is  placed 
against  the  wall. 
Tlie  Long  Peach.  Mark  a  line  on  the  floor  or  ground.  Toe 
this  mark  and  with  a  ])iece  of  chalk  or  stick  mark  the  floor 
or  ground  as  far  as  possible  from  the  line,  rising  again  to 
position  without  having  moved  the  toes  from  the  mark.  In 
returning   to   ])osition,  the   hand    which   has   supported  the 


( 'i,i,MiiiN<; 
Photograph  by  S.  "Weaver 


PERIOD  FOUR 


183 


body  in  stooping  to  make  the  mark  must  not  be  drawn  aLjug 
the  ground  or  placed  a  second  time  to  the  ground. 

TJie  Triumph.  Place  the  hands  beldnd  the  back,  palms 
together,  fingers  pointing  downward.  The  hands  are  now 
to  be  turned  so  that  tlie  fingers  point  upward,  the  change 
being  made  without  taking  the  fingers  apart. 

Dot  and  Carry  Two.  A  stoops  between  B  and  C,  passmg 
his  right  hand  behind  tlie  left  thigh  of  B,  whose  right  hand 
he  grasps,  and  his  left  hand 
behind  the  right  thigh  of 
C,  grasping  his  left  hand. 
B  and  C  place  an  arm 
about  A's  neck.  A  raises 
himself  gradually,  lifting  B 
and  C  from  the  ground. 

Stooping  Stretch.  Place 
the  outer  edge  of  the  right 
foot"  against  a  line  drawn 
upon  the  floor,  also  the  left 
heel  at  a  little  distance 
behind  the  right.    With  a 

piece  of  chalk  mark  the  floor  as  far  away  as  possible  by 
stooping  forward  and  passing  the  hand  between  the  legs, 
regaining  position  again  without  removing  the  feet  from  the 
line  or  touching  the  floor  with  either  hand. 

The  Titrnover.  Place  the  toes  of  one  foot  against  the  wall 
and  without  moving  the  toes  from  the  wall  throw  the  other 
foot  over  the  first,  thus  turning  completely  around.  A  short 
run  may  be  taken  before  placing  the  toes  against  the  wall. 

Tumhle-Down  Did:  Tip  a  chair  forward  upon  the  floor, 
the  back  being  up.    Tnke  hold  at  al)out  the  back  of  the  seat, 


Homemade  Apparatus 


184  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND   GAMES 

and,  balancing  the  body  with  the  liands  and  elbows,  lean 
forward  and  touch  the  head  to  the  top  of  the  chair  withmit 
letting  the  chair  tip  to  the  floor. 

Take  a  Chair  from  Under.  Arrange  three  chairs  in  a 
line,  and  place  the  heels  in  one  and  the  head  in  the  other, 
the  middle  one  being  under  the  back.  Now,  sustaining  the 
weight  of  the  body  by  the  heels  and  the  head,  take  the  middle 
chair  from  under  you  with  your  hands,  without  falling. 

Breast  to  Mouth.  Measure  the  distance  from  the  elbow  to 
the  end  of  the  middle  finger.  Mark  that  distance  upon  a 
stick.  Grasp  the  stick  with  the  right  hand,  the  middle  finger 
being  directly  over  the  mark  on  tlie  stick.  Keeping  the  head 
erect  and  the  stick  horizontal,  with  the  elbow  at  the  side, 
raise  the  left  end  of  the  stick  to  the  mouth. 

Lea'pfrog.  The  players  stand  some  distance  apart,  resting 
the  hands  upon  the  thighs  and  keeping  the  head  bowed.  The 
last  one  in  the  line  runs  and  leaps  over  each  player  in  succes- 
sion, placing  his  hands  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  one  whoni  he 
jumps  over  and  spreading  his  legs  to  clear  the  body.  When 
he  has  jumped  all  the  other  players  he,  in  turn,  "makes  a 
back,"  and  the  last  one  now  in  the  line  takes  his  turn  at  jump- 
ing. The  game  may  be  greatly  varied,  the  difficulty  of  the  leap 
being  gradually  increased.  The  game  may  be  played  as  a 
kind  of  race,  two  lines  being  formed  and  the  jumpers  racing 
down  them.  All  the  players  of  a  line  must  jump  all  the 
other  players.    The  side  finishing  first  wins. 

Tumbling.  An  expert  tum])ler  is  needed  to  direct  this 
sport.    Eightly  conducted  it  is  a  very  valuable  exercise. 

Balancing.  Many  balancing  tricks  will  be  of  interest  m 
this  period,  but  difficult  juggling  can  hardly  be  taken  up 
before  the  age  of  fifteen  or  sixteen.    Balancing  may  include 


PERIOD  FOUR 


185 


tricks  with  sticks  or  poles,  balancing  on  a  finger,  on  the  chin, 
nose,  forehead ;  balancing  chairs  and  various  objects ;  sit- 
ting in  a  cliair,  the  feet  under  a  table  or  some  object  to 


AcnOKATS 

keep  from  falling  backward,  and  balancing  on  the  hind  legs 
of  the  chair;  climbing  up  a  ladder;  walking  on  a  barrel;  and 
other  exercises. 

Walking  on  a  Tight  Rope  or  Wire.  This  is  an  excellent 
exercise  and  affords  much  pleasure,  and  is  perfectly  safe  when 
the  rope  is  suspended  low. 


186  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Jumping.  The  best  forms  of  this  exercise  include  the 
Itunuing  Broad  Jump,  Standing  Broad  Jump  (The  Public 
Schools  Athletic  League  sets  a  standard  of  six  feet  for  boys 
under  thirteen),  Kimning  High  Jump,  Standing  High  Jump, 
Backward  Jump,  Hop,  Step,  and  Jump,  Pole  Jump,  and 
Pole  Vault. 

Pull  Up,  or  Chinning  the  Bar.  Grasp  a  limb  or  horizontal 
bar  and  pull  the  body  up  so  that  the  chin  comes  on  a  level 
with  the  bar.  The  standard  for  boys  under  thirteen,  as  set 
by  the  Public  Schools  Athletic  League,  is  four  times. 

Putting  Shot.  The  shot  should  not  weigh  over  eight 
pounds  for  boys  under  thirteen. 

Miscellaneous  intellectual  games.  These  games  involve 
mainly  a  trial  of  the  mental  powers,  —  attention,  observation, 
memory,  and  judgment,  — •  and  are  emulative. 

Tlirowing  Light.  Two  of  the  players  agree  upon  some 
subject  and  converse  about  it  without  mentioning  it.  The 
others  try  to  guess  from  the  conversation  what  the  subject  is. 
When  one  thinks  he  has  guessed  correctly  he  joins  in  tlie 
conversation.  If  it  appears  from  his  conversation  that  he  has 
guessed  incorrectly,  he  may  be  challenged  and  must  whisper 
his  guess  in  the  ear  of  one  of  the  players  choosing  the  subject. 
If  wrong,  he  must  sit  tlirough  the  game  with  his  handker- 
chief over  his  face,  or  until  he  can  guess  correctly.  It  is 
allowable  to  choose  two  words  of  the  same  sound  but  of 
different  meanings,  and  to  refer  to  either  at  pleasure,  as,  for 
illustration,  "  soul  "  and  "  sole."  This  game  is  easily  adapted 
to  recreations  in  history  and  geography. 

Hoiv  Do  You  Like  It  ?  One  guesses  th(;  object  agreed  u})on 
by  the  rest,  fi'om  answers  given  to  the  questions,  "  How  do 
you  like  it  ? "    "  When  do  you  like  it  ? "    "  Where  do  you 


PERIOD  FOUR  187 

like  it? "  It  is  allowable  to  use  words  of  two  distinct  mean- 
ings, as  "  bell "  and  "  belle." 

Acting  Titles.  Some  of  the  players  leave  the  room  and 
fix  upon  some  familiar  book  or  story.  They  return  and  act 
out  the  title.  If  the  title  is  correctly  guessed,  another  group 
of  children  takes  a  turn. 

Hidden  Proverhs.  One  player  leaves  the  room  while  the 
others  choose  some  proverl).  One  word  of  the  proverb  is 
assigned  to-  each  player.  The  first  player  returns  and  ques- 
tions each  player  in  turn.  The  answer  of  each  child  must 
contain  the  word  assigned  to  him.  The  first  player  must 
guess  tlie  proverb. 

Corn  and  Beans.  A  large  number  of  cards,  with  questions 
in  arithmetic,  geography,  liistory,  or  whatever  you  like, 
written  upon  them,  are  used.  There  is  the  same  number  of 
cards  with  answers.  The  leader  reads  the  question.  Whoever 
bobhs  the  answer  must  cry,  "Corn!"  The  others  cry, 
"  r>eans ! "  If  one  cries  "Corn"  correctly  before  any  one 
cries  "  Beans,"  he  scores  a  point.  Corn  and  beans  may  be 
used  as  counters.    This  may  be  played  with  sides. 

/  Love  My  Love.  The  first  player  says,  "  I  love  my  love 
with  an  A,  because  he  is ,"  using  some  adjective  begin- 
ning with  the  letter  A.  The  second  repeats  what  the  first  said 
and  adds  a  new  adjective.  Thus  the  game  continues  until 
all  the  players  have  had  a  turn.  Then  a  new  letter  is  taken. 
This  game  may  l;)e  greatly  varied,  and  may  l)e  played  with 
sides  or  without.  It  may  be  adapted  to  several  different 
subjects  of  study.  For  example,  each  player  may  represent 
a  traveler,  the  first  saying,  "I  love  Athens  for  its  art";  the 
second,  "  I  love  P>arbary  for  its  bananas  "  ;  and  so  on,  consider- 
able freedom  beintr  li'iven  in  tlie  order  of  the  letters  used  and  in 


188  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

the  wording.  See  also  the  games  mentioned  on  pages  124- 
132,  some  of  wliich  may  lie  particularly  well  adapted  for 
drill  work  in  this  period. 

Repeating  Games.  See  the  games  described  on  pages  125 
and  126. 

Quotations.  Familiar  quotations  are  written  neatly  upon 
cards  or  heavy  paper.  The  cards  are  drawn  by  the  players. 
Each  reads  a  quotation  and  names  the  author.  Whoever  names 
the  author  correctly  retains  the  card.  In  case  of  failure  the 
card  is  returned  to  the  pack.  The  one  having  the  most  cards  at 
the  end  of  the  game  wins.    This  may  be  played  with  sides. 

Characters.  One  is  chosen  as  guesser.  The  others  choose 
some  character  whom  the  guesser  is  unwittingly  to  represent. 
The  players  question  him  as  though  he  were  the  character 
they  have  in  mind,  until  he  can  name  the  person  thought  of. 

Judge  and  Jury.  A  judge  and  three  jurymen  are  chosen. 
The  other  players  name  some  person  to  be  represented.  The 
judge  then  questions  each  one  as  to  dates,  incidents,  contem- 
poraries, etc.,  and  each,  when  questioned,  must  answer  just  as 
though  he  were  the  person  chosen.  The  jury  decide  whether 
the  questions  are  correctly  answered  or  not.  Whoever  misses 
is  out  of  the  game.    This  game  may  be  played  with  sides. 

History.  Each  player  writes  the  name  of  a  person  or 
country  upon  a  piece  of  paper  or  card.  These  are  shuffled 
and  distributed.  Each  player  in  turn  must  rise  and  give  a 
good  account  of  the  person  or  country  written  on  the  card 
which  he  happens  to  hold. 

Clumps.  Each  side  cliooses  a  captain.  Each  captain  sends 
a  player  out  of  the  room.  These  two  agree  upon  some  object 
or  person  to  be  guessed  by  tlie  rest  of  the  players.  They 
then  return,  and  each  sits  with  the  players  of  the .  opposing 


PERIOD  FOUR  189 

side.  Each  side,  l»y  asking  questions  wliicli  may  Ije  answered 
by  "  Yes  "  or  "  No  "  or  "  I  do  not  know,"  tries  to  find  out  the 
person  or  object  thought  of.  The  players  first  guessing  cor- 
rectly clap  their  hands,  and  the  captain  chooses  one  player 
from  the  other  side.  Two  other  players  are  then  sent  out, 
and  the  game  continues  as  before.  The  side  havmg  the  most 
players  at  the  close  of  the  game  wins. 

Aniinal,  Vegctaldc,  or  Mineral.  This  game  is  similar  to 
Clumps,  but  answers  are  not  confined  to  "  Yes,"  "  No,"  and 
"  I  do  not  know."  The  first  question  is,  "  Does  it  belong  to 
the  animal,  vegetable,  or  mineral  kingdom  ?  " 

Twenty  Questions.  The  players  are  divided  into  two  parties, 
each  with  a  captain.  One  side  decides  upon  the  thing  to  be 
guessed,  the  other  asks  the  questions.  All  questions  are  asked 
by  the  captain  after  due  deliberation  by  all  the  pla}'ers  of 
his  side ;  all  answers  are  made  by  the  captam  of  the  other 
side  after  due  consultation  with  all  the  players  of  his  side. 
Only  twenty  questions  are  allowed  to  be  asked  m  all.  If  the 
questioners  can  guess  the  answer  correctly  in  one  guess  after 
the  twenty  questions  are  asked,  they  win  ;  if  not,  they  lose. 

A  good  game  may  be  played  with  cardljoard  letters  such 
as  are  used  in  Logomachy.  Each  player  draws  a  letter  from 
the  box.  Then,  before  lookhig  at  the  letter  in  his  hand,  the 
first  player  mentions  some  object  or  person  to  be  named  by 
the  players,  as  a  famous  painting  or  a  famous  American 
statesman.  He  then  quickly  places  his  letter  face  up  on  the 
table.  Whoever  can  first  name  an  object  or  person  conform- 
ing to  the  class  given  and  beginning  with  the  letter  which 
happens  to  be  turned  up,  keeps  the  letter  as  a  counter  in  his 
score.  The  one  taking  the  most  letters  wms.  The  game  may 
be  adapted  to  ^'arious  school  subjects,  as  history,  geography, 


100  EDUCATION   lir  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

or  literature.  For  example,  it  may  be  re(|uired  that  a  line  or 
verse  of  poetry  which  begins  with  the  letter  drawn  be  given. 
Cajypinf/  Verses.  A  player  repeats  a  line  of  poetry  or  other 
([notation.  The  next  player  repeats  one  beginning  with  the 
last  letter  of  the  previous  quotation.  This  may  be  adapted 
to  various  school  subjects. 

Acting  Charades.  Sides  are  chosen  and  each  side  in  turn 
selects  some  word  to  be  guessed  by  the  other  side.  Usually 
the  word  is  dixdded  into  two  or  more  parts,  and  each  part  is 
acted  out  Ijy  the  players.  For  example,  if  "  Washington  "  is 
the  word  selected,  it  may  be  divided  into  "  washing "  and 
"  ton."  The  act  of  washing  may  be  represented,  and  also  ton, 
as  in  the  act  of  weighing,  or  the  word  "  ton  "  may  be  used  in 
the  conversation  of  the  actors.  The  game  is  capable  of  great 
range  as  to  difficulty  and  originality. 

There  are  many  other  quiet  games  adapted  to  this  period, 
which  are  more  or  less  familiar.  These  are  of  much  value 
and  interest  on  rainy  days,  during  the  recess  and  the  noon 
hour  at  scIkkjI,  and  in  the  evening  at  home. 

Tit-tat-to.  A  diagram  is  made  on  the  black- 
board, slate,  or  paper.  One  player  marks  with 
ciphers,  the  other  with  crosses.  They  play  in 
turn,  the  object  being  to  get  three  marks  of  a 
kind  in  a  row.  AVlioever  succeeds  first  wins.  The  winner 
cries,  "  Tit-tat-to,  three  men  in  row." 

A  game  is  sometimes  played  with  a  circular  diagram,  sev- 
eral children  taking  part.  Any  nund)er  of  divisions  may  be 
made  in  the  circle.  Each  player  in  turn  takes  a  pencil,  and 
with  eyes  shut  moves  it  about  above  the  diagram,  sayii\g, 

Tit-tat-to,  my  first  go,  Stick  one  up,  stick  one  down, 

riirt^e  jolly  liutchcrs  all  in  a  row.      Stick  one  in  tlic  old  man's  ground. 


0 

0 

X 

X 

0 

X 

PERIOD  FOUR 


191 


He  then  puts  the  point  of  liis  pencil  as  best  he  can,  ^vith 
eyes  still  shut,  on  the  diagram.  Each  player  records  the 
number  of  the  space  upon  which  the 
pencil  falls,  and  that  space  is  "  scratched." 
The  game  ends  as  soon  as  one  player  suc- 
ceeds in  placing  his  pencil  in  the  center, 
or  when  all  the  spaces  except  the  one  in 
the  center  have  been  scratched.  Some- 
times the  game  is  said  to  go  to  the  old 
man,  if  the  center  is  not  touched  before  all  the  other  s]iaces 
have  been  taken. 

Another  game  is  played  with  a  square  diagram.  Checkers 
or  counters  are  used  and  there  are  two  players.  Each  in 
turn  places  a  counter  on  the  points  where  any  two  or  more 
lines  meet  in  the  diagram.  Whoever  gets 
three  in  a  row  first  wins.  01  course  this 
game  could  be  played  at  the  blackljoard, 
or  even  on  the  ground,  lines  being 
scratched  with  a  stick,  and  ciphers  and 
crosses  being  used  for  counters. 

To  these  games  may  be  added  the  fa- 
miliar one  of  Checkers,  which  children  begm  to  play  in  a  simple 
way  in  this  period,  although  it  strictly  belongs  to  later  years. 
The  board  and  the  checkers  may  easily  be  made  by  the 
children.  The  board  or  diagram  consists  of  sixty-four  equal 
squares,  alternating  black  and  white,  and  suggests  a  good 
exercise  for  a  drawing  lesson.  A  simpler  game  than  Checkers, 
called  Give- Away,  may  be  played  with  the  board. 

Give-Away.  The  object  in  this  game  is  to  give  away  all 
one's  checkers.  The  jumping  and  the  taking  of  men  follow 
the  same  rules  as  in  Checkers. 


192 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Pyramid.  In  this  game  the  checkers  are  arranged  in  the 
form  of  pyramids  of  ten  checkers  eacli.  The  ohject  is  to  trans- 
fer one's  pyramid  to  the  position  occupied  by  that  of  one's 

opponent  at  the  beginning  of  the 
game.  Tlie  same  rules  follow  as 
in  the  above  games,  but  checkers 
are  not  removed  when  jumped. 

Some  other  familiar  games, 
which  need  not  be  described,  are 
Dommoes  (in  great  variety),  Par- 
chesi.  Authors,  and  various  other 
simple  card  games. 
Fox  and  Geese.  This  game  is  played  on  a  diagram,  as  shown 
in  the  illustration.  One  player  has  seventeen  pieces  called  the 
geese  and  one  other  called  the  fox.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
game  the  pieces  are  placed  as  shown  in  the  figure,  and  are 
moved  along  the  lines  from  point  to  point.  The  object  is  for 
the  geese  to  pen  up  the  fox  so  he  cannot  move,  or  for  the  fox 
to  capture  the  geese.  The  fox  may  capture  a  goose  by  jumping 
over  it,  if  the  next  space  beyond 
is  not  occupied,  as  in  the  game  of 
Checkers.  The  geese  may  advance 
and  heui  the  fox  in,  endeavoring 
to  keep  each  goose  protected. 

Nine-Men's  Morris.  Two  play- 
ers have  nine  men  each.  These 
are  placed  on  the  board  in  turn, 
the  object  being  to  form  a  row  of 
three  men,  as  in  Tit-tat-to.  When 
a  player  succeeds  in  this  he  may  take  oil'  one  of  his  ojqionent's 
men,  ])ut  may  not  select  one  of  three  in  a  row,  if  there  is  any 


rijnoi)  FOUR  193 

other.  When  all  nine  men  have  been  laid  on  the  board  they 
may  be  moved  along  the  lines  from  point  to  point,  always  in 
the  endeavor  to  form  a  line  of  three.  The  player  who  succeeds 
in  capturing  all  his  opponent's  men  wins.  See  illustration  at 
Ijottom  of  page  192. 

Card  and  TaUe  Games.  To  these  games  also  belong  many 
familiar  card  and  table  games,  such  as  Authors  and  Checkers. 
The  game  of  Authors  may  be  adapted  in  many  ways  to 
school  suljjects.  The  Cincinnati  Game  Company  publishes 
many  games  of  this  kind.  ]\lany  exercises  similar  to  those 
explained  hi  Aiken's  ]\lethods  of  Mind  Training  are  well 
adapted  to  stimulate  emulation  and  experimentation  of  mental 
powers  and  therefore  offer  suggestions  for  games. 

Biddies.  Paddles,  conundrums,  puzzles,  particularly  mechan- 
ical and  geometrical  puzzles,  are  of  mterest  at  this  age,  and 
may  be  used  in  a  variety  of  ways.  Many  books  and  current 
numbers  of  juvenile  papers  furnish  numerous  suggestions. 

To  these  games  also  belong  many  games  involving  school 
su])jects. 

Arithmetic.  The  arithmetical  games  of  this  period  must 
be  based  largely  upon  emulation  and  experimentation  of 
mental  powers.  This  is  preeminently  the  period  for  drill  in 
the  fundamental  operations  and  facts  of  arithmetic,  and  while 
the  games  must  be  more  or  less  artificial  they  quicken  inter- 
est and  increase  attention,  materially  aiding  in  the  drill  work. 
Some  of  the  suggestive  games  for  drill  described  on  page  143 
may  be  adapted  to  this  period. 

Arithmetical  Standards.  Select  some  standard  of  quickness 
in  the  fundamental  operations.  For  example,  in  long  division 
the  standard  might  be  two  seconds  for  every  figure  written. 
Thus,  if  19,832  is  to  l)e  divided   by  74,  the  correct  answer 


194 


EDUCATION   BY  TLAYS  AND  GAMES 


should  be  given  in  fifty  seconds.  In  addition,  subtraction,  and 
multiplication  one  second  for  every  figure  written  might 
perhaps  be  the  standard.  The  standard  should,  of  course, 
vary  for  different  classes  of  children,  and  might  be  determined 
after  some  experimental  trials.  It  should  not  be  too  high 
at  first,  however,  and  every  child  wlio  has  attained  it   in 


■■ 

1    1  , 

j;. 

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,\^ 
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r 

l"i 

II 

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cr::^ 

J,^a  ■3^— "-ra  .SiSji 

^ 

Volunteer  Nature  Work  —  A  Schoolroom  Corner 
Kindness  of  C.  A.  Putnam 

a  formal  test  shovdd  receive  some  mark  of  recognition  of  his 
skill.    There  might  be  a  minimum  and  a  maxinuim  standard. 

Arithmetical  Races.  Choose  sides.  When  all  are  ready  dis- 
close examples  which  have  been  concealed  from  sight.  The 
side  that  has  the  larger  number  of  correct  answers  within  a 
given  time  wins. 

Dominoes,  Farchesi,  BacJcganiTnon,  Number  Lotto,  and  many 
other  similar  games  may  be  mentioned ;  also  games  of  like 
nature  published  by  The  Cincinnati  (lame  Company. 


PERIOD  FOUR 


195 


Nature  plays.  Interest  in  pets,  particulaii}'  cats  and  dogs, 
ill  exploring,  tishing,  hunting,  nutting,  and  cullectiag  is  very 
keen  at  this  period.  These  interests  lie  at  the  foundation  of 
awakening  love  of  nature,  and  furnish  a  kind  and  range  of 
knowledge  of  great  culture  value  and  of  incalculable  value  to 
the  student  of  science.    The  school  aquarium,  the  cabinet, 


The  Young  Fisherman 


the  back-yard  or  school-yard  menagerie,  and  the  individual 
collections  furnish  splendid  opportunities  for  the  teacher. 
For  example,  specimens  of  the  different  fishes  and  insects 
of  the  fresh-water  streams  and  ponds  of  the  town  may  be 
captured  for  the  school  aquarium  or  fish  pond.  The  fish 
pond,  aquarium,  vivarium,  developing  cages,  mounting  boards 
for  butterflies,  fish  nets,  insect  nets,  etc.,  can  be  made  by  the 


196  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

boys  and  girls  under  the  direction  of  the  manual-training 
teacher  or  even  alone ;  also  bird  houses,  dog  houses,  squirrel 
cages,  dove  pens,  and  the  like.  Collecting  old  bird  nests  in 
the  fall  is  a  good  preparation  for  the  making  of  bird  houses 
in  the  early  spring  and  for  keeping  a  record  of  bird  migration. 

In  this  period  the  collections  of  cliildren  begin  to  take 
definite  shape  and  permanency  of  interest,  and  their  interest 
in  such  collections  may  w^ell  be  utilized  by  the  teacher  of 
nature,  geography,  and  history,  particularly.  The  collection 
of  insects  and  water  animals  mentioned  above,  and  the  collec- 
tion of  stamps,  minerals,  arrowheads,  flowers,  ferns,  woods, 
are  all  in  point. 

Camping  out  is  a  passion  at  this  time,  and  may  bring  its 
golden  opportunities  in  many  lines.  For  further  hints  on 
woodcraft  see  The  Birch-Bark  Eoll  and  Two  Little  Savages, 
by  Ernest  Thompson  Seton.  Nut  gathering,  berrying,  fishing, 
pet  keepmg,  and  gardening  begin  to  take  on  a  practical  form 
and  are  frequently  associated  with  interest  in  barter,  trade, 
and  money  values.  (The  money  interest,  however,  is  greater 
at  the  end  of  this  period  and  in  the  next  period.) 

Gardcni'iKj.  Interest  in  gardening  now  centers  sufficiently 
upon  the  product  to  make  it  of  practical  value.  The  dia- 
gram of  the  gardens  at  the  Worcester  County  Truant  School, 
shown  on  the  opposite  page,  is  very  suggestive  for  a  school 
garden. 

Geography.  The  nature  interests  tend  to  furnish  knowl- 
edge of  many  facts  which  are  of  fundamental  importance  to 
the  student  of  geography,  and  the  teacher  should  take  advan- 
tage of  many  activities  already  suggested.  Emulation  and 
experimentation  of  mental  powers,  previously  mentioned,  will 
lend  zest  to  the  work  in  geography,  if  wisely  and  skillfully 


PERIOD  FOUR 


197 


appropriated  by  the  teaclier.  Collections,  especially  of  stamps 
and  of  postmarks,  arrowheads,  and  the  like,  play  directly  into 
the  hands  of  the  geography  teacher  and  the  history  teacher. 


esson  1 

<,!. 

10 

cc 

11 

11 

3 

(( 

9 

12X 


13 

8 
7 
6 
5 
4 
13 
14 


North 
20  feet 


,1.. I.. I. .!..!.. I.. I. J.. I.. I.. I.. I.. I.. I. 


DiAGiiAM  OF  A  Boys'  Garden 


^  5^3 


B  2i' 

G  2i' 

D  2' 

E  2' 

F  3' 

G  3' 

//  2' 

I  2' 

J  1' 

K  1' 

L  1' 

M  l> 

N  1' 

,0  1' 


.1,  potatoes;  J),  corn;  C,  beans;  D,  peas;  E,  cabbage  plants,  muskmelon, 
watenuelou ;  F,  cucumbers ;  //,  tomato  plants,  summer  squash ;  /, 
Swiss  chard,  spinach;  J,  radish;  K,  beets;  L,  lettuce;  31,  onion 
sets;  N,  asters,  pinks;  0,  pansies,  verbenas 

Collecting  raw  materials  and  manufactured  products,  such  as 
those  classed  under  silkworm,  honeybee,  corn,  cotton,  coal,  and 
many  others,  and  mounting  them  on  cardboard,  or  otherwise, 


198  EDUCATION   15Y   PLAYS   AND  GAMES 

should  l)e  encouraged.    Sand-pile  ])lay  is  often  continued  into 
this  period  (see  page  147). 

Games.    The  following  are  good  games  for  occasional  use. 

1.  Sides  are  chosen.  The  leader  of  one  side  begins  by 
calling  out  the  name  of  some  city  Ijeginning  with  A.  Before 
ten  can  be  counted  the  leader  on  the  other  side  must  name 
another  city  beginning  with  A.  The  second  player  on  the 
first  side  then  takes  up  the  game,  and  so  on.  Whoever  misses 
is  put  out  of  the  game.  The  side  having  most  players  left  at 
the  end  of  the  game  wms. 

2.  The  leader  of  one  side  calls  out  any  letter,  and  says, 
"  Sea,"  or  "  Bay,"  or  "  Mountain,"  or  other  geographical  subject. 
The  leader  on  the  other  side  answers  and  calls  out  in  turn. 
The  game  proceeds  similarly  to  the  first  game. 

3.  Geographical  lists  are  written,  first  beginning  with  A, 
then  B,  and  so  on.  One  minute  is  allowed  for  each  letter. 
Lists  are  corrected  and  scores  compared. 

Adventurers.  One  is  chosen  adventurer  and  is  assigned 
a  place  from  which  he  nuist  start.  He  nuist  describe  his 
journey,  the  appearance  of  the  country,  the  people,  cities, 
occupations,  etc. 

Conveyances.  Each  selects  a  route  for  a  jovn-ney.  Then,  in 
turn,  each  describes  his  conveyances,  how  he  crossed  this  lake, 
that  ]nountain,  etc. 

Traveler.  One  is  chosen  traveler.  He  is  about  to  visit  a 
country  which  the  others  are  supposed  to  have  seen.  He  asks 
each  player  any  question  he  may  wish  in  regard  to  the  country. 

History.  Each  writes  the  name  of  a  country  upon  a  slip 
of  paper.  These  are  shutHed  and  drawn.  I'.ach  must  give  an 
oral  or  a  written  description  or  brief  history  of  the  country 
which  falls  to  him. 


PERIOD  FOUR 


199 


Merchants.  Each  player  in  turn  impersonates  a  merchant 
from  some  foreign  country.  The  others  must  guess  what 
each  merchant  has  to  sell. 

Repeating  Games.  The  games  described  on  jiages  125  and 
126  may  be  adapted  to  the  geography  work  of  tliis  period. 

Coi^n  and  Beans.    See  page  187. 

History.  Among  the  liistor}-  games  may  be  mentioned 
the  following : 

F(tmoiis  Men.  The  children  make  up  a  pack  of  cards 
similar  in  form  to  those  used  in  the  game  of  Authors,  upon 


Hunting  Specimens  for  the  Aquarium 
Photograph  by  G.  E.  Mounts 


which  are  written  the  names  of  famous  men  under  various 
headings,  as  generals,  statesmen,  discoverers,  inventors.  The 
game  is  played  similarly  t(j  the  game  of  Authors. 

Famous  Numhers.    Nundjers  are   written   upon  cards  or 
slips  of  paper.    These  are  drawn  and  the  players  tell  for  what 


200  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

the  number  is  famous.  For  example,  13  may  be  said  to  Ije 
famous  because  of  the  thirteen  American  colonies. 

P's  and  Q's.  One  player  gives  the  name  of  some  histor- 
ical character,  the  next  names  the  place  of  birth  or  gives 
some  other  name  or  a  date  associated  with  his  life,  and  so  on. 
The  game  may  be  played  with  sides,  the  play  passing  from 
one  side  to  the  other.  An  error  in  statement  or  failure  to 
give  a  fact  puts  the  player  out  of  the  game,  as  ui  a  spell- 
ing match. 

Assumed  Characters.  Each  player  impersonates  some  char- 
acter of  whom  he  lias  read,  and  relates  his  history. 

Who  was  He  ?  One  begins  by  giving  a  brief  sketch  of 
some  historical  character,  and  then  suddenly  asks,  "  Who 
was  he  ? "  The  first  one  to  answer  scores  a  point  and  gives 
another  sketch.    The  game  may  be  played  with  sides. 

Historical  Tableaux.  Some  of  the  players  group  them- 
selves and  assume  attitudes  in  representation  of  some  event 
of  history.    The  others  guess  the  subject  of  the  tableau. 

Historical  Dramas.  The  children  WTite  out  and  act  out 
simple  plays  based  on  their  liistory  reading.  This  can  be 
very  successfully  done  by  children  of  this  age. 

Historical  Pictures.  Each  player  draws  a  sketch  illustrating 
some  historical  event,  the  subject  of  which  is  to  be  guessed 
by  the  others. 

Characters.  One  player  leaves  the  room.  The  rest  agree 
upon  some  character  and  summon  tlie  player  l)ack.  Tliey  then 
question  him  as  though  he  were  the  person  thought  of.  He 
must  determine  from  their  questions  whom  he  is  supposed 
to  represent.  The  player  asking  the  question  which  gives 
him  the  final  cue  to  the  right  name  of  the  character  must  be 
the  next  to  leave  the  room. 


PERIOD  FOUR  201 

Language,  reading,  spelling.  The  story  interest  still  holds 
a  vital  relation  to  language  development  in  this  period.  This 
mterest  is  the  best  ally  of  the  teacher  in  the  teaching  of 
language.  Stories  of  adventure  are  among  the  best  for  selec- 
tion.   The  following  plays  and  games  are  useful. 

Anecdotes.  The  children  relate  in  turn  short  stories  or 
anecdotes,  which  may  be  confined  at  one  time  to  incidents  in 
the  lives  of  noted  men ;  at  another,  to  examples  of  heroism ; 
at  another,  to  witty  answers;  and  so  on. 

Stories.  This  is  a  game  similar  to  the  preceding,  the  stories 
being  much  longer.  They  should  be  either  original  or  repro- 
ductions of  stories  heard  or  read. 

Printing  Press.  The  printing  press  is  very  valuable  at 
this  time.  A  play  printing  office  has  been  very  successfully 
conducted  by  boys  of  this  age  in  summer-school  work,  one 
of  the  products  of  the  office  being  a  paper  now  in  its  fifth 
volume. 

Impromptu  Newspaper.  Each  player  is  assigned  some  part 
of  a  paper  to  write,  as  the  name  of  the  paper,  news  items, 
anecdote,  advertisement,  memory  gem,  etc.  '  Only  a  brief  time 
should  be  allowed  for  writing. 

Continued  Stories.  One  begins  an  original  story.  After 
being  well  started  he  stops,  and  the  next  must  take  up  the 
thread  of  the  story  and  continue  for  a  time,  then  leave  it  to 
the  next ;  and  so  on. 

Novels.  This  is  similar  to  Continued  Stories,  except  that 
each  writes  his  part. 

Two-Minute  Conversations.  The  players  ai'e  paired  off. 
Topics  are  written  upon  slips  of  paper  and  drawn  by  one  of 
each  pair.  Each  couple  must  rise  and  converse  with  anima- 
tion for  two  minutes  upon  the  subject  drawn. 


JAN   19,   1907 

PUBLISHLD    BY    THE 


PRINTING     CO 

NOaTH    WAYNZ    !VA!NE. 
T'lhiij^hed  Fikst  and  tiiikd  Saliiulays  of  ci-.ch 
ui-tr.'Ji.     .Sijij^Io  copies    2    cc:its.     Per    year  25 
coutB,     If  by  iTiail  nftv  ~eut^  iier  vcar. 


Papek  started  by  a  Bov  of  Thirteen 


202 


PERIOD  FOUR  203 

Correspondence  hetwecn  Schools.  This  may  be  carried  on  hy 
the  children  of  two  widely  separated  schools. 

Letters  from  Abroad.  Children  select  countries  to  visit. 
They  write  letters  periodically,  relating  experiences  in  their 
supposed  travels.  Genuine  letters  from  abroad  are  received 
by  pupils  in  certain  high  schools  from  pupils  in  foreign 
schools,  the  letters  usually  being  written  half  in  one's  own 
language  and  half  in  the  correspondent's. 

Advcrls.  An  adverb  is  chosen,  unknown  to  one  of  the 
players.  This  player  must  question  the  others  on  a  certain 
subject  and  infer  the  adverb  chosen  from  the  manner  in 
which  his  questions  are  answered. 

Adjectives.  A  somewhat  similar  game  may  be  devised, 
using  adjectives  instead  of  adverbs. 

Mosaics.  A  list  of  words  is  given,  and  a  story  is  written 
containing  these  words  in  the  original  order. 

Frohibitio7is.  Questions  are  asked  on  some  subject,  but 
certain  parts  of  speech  are  prohiljited  in  the  answers. 

Post  Office.  A  school  post  office  is  established  with  the 
teacher  in  charge. 

Delates.  Before  the  close  of  this  period  there  is  some 
interest  in  simple  discussions  and  debates. 

Dramatics.  The  dramatic  interest  should  be  utilized  in 
work  in  literature.  In  the  reading  classes  different  children 
may  take  the  parts  of  different  characters.  Simple  drama- 
tizations of  selections  read  should  occasionally  be  attempted. 

Spelling  Games.  The  spelling  matches  and  spelling  games 
described  on  pages  150-153  may  be  adapted  for  this  period 
by  increasing  the  difficulties  and  standards. 

Drawing  plays.  Drawing  and  painting  shouhl  involve,  as 
in  the  previous  period,  representations  of  the  human  figure 


204  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

and  of  animals,  with  emphasis  upon  action.  More  attention 
should  be  given  to  details.  Stories  should  be  illustrated,  also 
poems  and  historical  incidents,  in  connection  with  school 
work.  The  painting  of  flowers,  of  doll  dresses,  hats,  and  the 
like,  the  children  originating  designs  for  the  same,  should 
be  encouraged.  The  embeUishing  of  hand  work  by  painting, 
carving,  or  burning,  may  be  begun  ;  passepartout  work  should 
also  be  attempted.  Picture  collections  are  of  value.  Interest 
will  be  keen  in  silhouettes  and  shadow  pictures.  Games  like 
Historical  Pictures,  mentioned  on  page  200,  will  be  profitable. 
Music  plays.  The  kindersymphonie  orchestra  may  be  con- 
tinued. The  playing  of  musical  instruments  should  be  begun, 
and  ample  opportunity  given  for  hearing  good  music.  Much 
should  be  made  of  singing.  Tbe  traditional  singing  games 
with  their  simple  dances  continue  to  be  of  great  interest 
and  value. 


PEEIOD  FIVE   (Ages  13-15) 

The  essential  characteristics  of  this  period  are  as  follows : 
It  is  a  period  of  most  rapid  bodily  growth.  There  is  an 
increase  in  the  size  of  the  heart,  relative  to  the  size  of 
the  blood  vessels,  and  hence  an  increase  in  blood  pressure. 
There  is  also  a  marked  increase  in  lung  and  chest  capacity, 
in  strength  of  hand,  and  in  control  of  accessory  muscles. 


"  DoixG  St  I- MIS  ■" 
Photograph  by  C.  S.  Moore 

It  is  a  period  of  greatest  tendency  to  nervous  disorders. 
There  is  an  accelerated  rate  of  development  of  association 
libers  in  the  brain.  There  is  a  rapid  development  of  the 
sexual  organs,  and  the  sexes  become  to  a  degree  mutually 
repellant.  Sex  differences  in  game  interests  become  promi- 
nent. It  is  a  time  of  awkwardness,  periodic  laziness,  and  emo- 
tional instability,  with  tendency  to  reverie,  self-consciousness, 

205 


206 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


and  also  to  self-assertion  and  dreams  of  greatness.  The  tend- 
ency to  imitation  is  renewed,  and  there  is  an  increased  sus- 
ceptibility to  influences  of  adult  ideals  and  example,  and  to 
religious  influence.  It  is  a  period  also  when  there  is  the 
greatest  liability  to  incorrigibility,  misdemeanor,  and  crime. 
Tliere  is  a  tendency  to  affectation  and  mannerisms.    It  is  a 


An  Uutdook  Gymnasium 

time  of  sensitiveness  to  ridicule,  of  keen  sense  of  humor,  and 
tendency  to  freakishness  and  pranks.  There  is  frequently  a 
desire  to  show  off  and  a  tendency  to  the  use  of  slang.  It  is 
a  period  of  development  of  the  powers  of  organization  ;  hence 
the  tendency  to  form  rudimciitaiy  organizations,  gangs,  and 
teams.  There  is  an  interest  in  giving  and  taking  stumps. 
Pugnacity  and  anger  increase.    There  is  often  a  desire  to 


PERIOD  FIVE 


207 


leave  home,  yet  a  susceptibility  to  homesickness.  Imagina- 
tion, sympathy,  memory,  and  power  of  reasoning  are  increas- 
ing. At  this  time  culminates  interest  in  reading.  There  is 
great  interest  in  nature,  especially  in  the  training  of  animals. 
There  is  more  mterest  in  the  ]:)ractical,  and  a  better  sense  of 
the  value  and  right 
use  of  money.  The 
collection  interest 
gains  in  definiteness 
and  permanency. 
Interest  in  language 
puzzles  and  arithmet- 
ical puzzles  is  at  its 
height.  There  is  an 
increase  of  interest 
in  rhythm  and  con- 
certed action.  There 
is  now  a  genuine  his- 
toric interest ;  also  a 
dramatic  interest, 
with  tendency  toward 
the  vaudeville  type. 
There  is  great  love 
of  adventure,  great 

admiration  for  physical  prowess,  hero  worship,  and  love  of 
hunting  and  camping.  The  game  interest  ceniers  more  and 
more  in  cooperative  and  competitive  games,  and  the  circle  of 
favorite  games  constantly  narrows. 

Apparatus.  This  should  include  an  outdoor  gymnasium 
(the  boys  wdth  the  aid  of  blacksmith  and  carpenter  can  pro- 
vide apparatus  for  such  gynmasium,  if  it  is  not  possible  to 


A  Bov's  Puppet  Tiikater 

Everything  phinned,  constructed,  ami  executed 
by  a  boy  of  tbirteeu 


208 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


])uy  apparatus  of  regular  manufacturers),  running  track,  jump- 
ing standards,  apparatus  for  vaulting,  hurdles,  8-pound  shot, 
baseball  and  football  field,  tennis  court,  bowluig  green,  cro- 
quet sets,  basket-ball  court,  skating  rink,  indoor  gymnasium, 
swimming  pool,  homemade  boats,  rowboats,  sailboats,  guns, 
fishing  tackle ;  workshop ;  mechanical  and  electrical  toys ; 
den  or  clubhouse ;  garden  ;  pets  ;  menagerie,  vivarium,  aqua- 
rium, nature  collections;  puppet  theater;  musical  instruments  ; 
outfit  of  some  sort  for  painting,  modeling,  carving,  or  burn- 
ing ;  material  for  sewing,  beadwork,  or  embroidery. 

Transitional  games.  The  following  transitional  games  may 
be  selected  from  the  list  given  under  Period  Four :  Prisoners' 
Base,  Hill  Dill,  Bound  Hands,  Eelievo,  Day  and  Night,  Cross 


Roof  Playground 

Tag,  Follow  Tag,  Hang  Tag,  Hunting  Tag,  Racing  Games, 
Duck  on  a  Pvock,  Eolly-Pooly,  Hare  and  Hound. 

Competitive  games  and  contests.  The  following  competi- 
tive games  and  contests,  generally  cooperative,  are  of  special 
interest  at  this  period  and  are  adapted  to  the  peculiar  physical 


PERIOD  FIVE 


209 


and  mental  needs  of  this  time.  They  involve  great  physical 
activity  and  furnish  relief  for  the  high  blood  pressure  and 
escape  from  morbid  tendencies  and  dangers  of  this  age.  They 
are  particularly  adapted  to  further  the  development  of  large 


Hockey  on  a  Koof  Playground 

muscle  areas,  to  continue  the  development  of  the  finer  motor 
adjustments,  to  relate  individual  motor  activity  to  a  social 
group,  and  to  develop  courage,  staying  power,  and  social 
consciousness. 

Many  of  the  games  will  be  continued  from  the  previous 
period  and  need  not  be  described  again.  Others  are  familiar  to 
all  boys  and  need  not  be  described  here.  The  rules  governing 
such  games  may  be  readily  obtained. 

A  brief  list  of  such  familiar  games  contains  the  following: 
Baseball,  Football,  Basket  Ball,  American  Football,  Associa- 
tion Football,  Polo,  Hockey,  Cricket,  Keep  Ball,  Lacrosse, 
Golf,  Croquet,  Belle  Cycle,  Tennis,  Handball,  Water  Polo, 
Lawn  Bowls,  Tether  Tennis,  Lawn  Hockey,  Volley  Ball,  Golf 
Croquet,  Hand  Tennis,  Garden  Hockey,  Ping  Hockey,  Parlor 
Hockey,  Billiards,  Pool,  Bowling. 


210  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Besides  the  games  already  meiiliuned,  many  old  games  have 
been  recast  and  a  few  new  ones  invented  by  teachers  of 
physical  training,  which  are  of  special  interest  at  this  period. 
Most  of  these  have  been  adapted  for  limited  space,  as  in  the 
gymnasium.  They  have  appeared  in  such  periodicals  as  Mind 
and  Body,  American  Physical  Education  Review,  and  Era, 
and  many  have  been  compiled  in  convenient  and  inexpensive 
books  by  E.  H,  Arnold,  A.  M,  Chesley,  W.  C.  Schaefer,  and 
others.  Some  of  the  most  popular  of  these  games  are  men- 
tioned below. 

lledicine  Ball.  Two  or  more  teams  of  any  convenient 
number  of  players  may  be  chosen.  Each  team  stands  in  line 
with  a  distance  of  several  feet  l)etween  the  members.  The 
game  starts  at  a  given  signal,  and  each  player  at  the  head 
of  a  line  passes  a  medicine  ball  backward  between  his  legs 
to  the  next  player,  who  passes  it  on  in  a  like  manner  to  the 
next,  and  so  on  down  the  line.  When  the  last  player  receives 
the  ball  he  runs  with  it  to  the  head  of  the  line,  —  the  other 
players  meanwhile  moving  back  one  space,  —  and  passes  it 
back,  as  in  the  first  instance.  The  game  continues  until  the 
one  who  stood  originally  at  the  head  of  his  line  returns  again 
to  the  head,  thereby  scoring  a  i)oint  for  his  side.  Sometimes 
a  basket  ball  is  used,  and  the  last  player  is  required  to  throw 
it  into  the  basket. 

Mount  Ball.  This  is  a  modification  of  the  ancient  game 
of  Knights.  Half  of  the  players  are  ponies  and  the  other  half 
are  riders.  The  ponies  are  mounted  and  form  a  circle,  while 
the  riders  pass  a  ball  about  among  themselves,  the  ponies  en- 
deavoring meanwhile  to  unseat  their  riders.  Wlien  a  failure 
to  catch  the  ball  is  made  all  the  riders  dismount  and  run, 
while  the  pony  whose  rider  failed  to  make  the  catch  runs 


J'ERIOD  FIVE  211 

and  gets  the  ball  and  immediately  cries,  "  Halt ! "  The  riders 
must  then  stand  in  place  while  the  pony  throws  the  ball  at 
one  of  them.  The  ball  may  be  dodged,  but  the  rider  must 
not  change  his  place.  If  the  rider  is  hit,  the  ponies  become 
riders  and  the  riders  ponies.  If  the  thrower  fails  to  hit,  the 
game  is  resumed  as  before. 

Scrimmage  Ball.  A  convenient  court  is  marked  out  with 
a  goal  line  at  each  end.  Half  are  goal  defenders  and  half 
are  forwards.  The  players  of  each  side  are  stationed  within 
their  goal  lines.  At  a  signal  the  forwards  of  each  side  rush 
forward  and  endeavor  to  drive  the  ball,  which  is  placed  at 
the  center  of  the  court,  across  the  enemy's  goal  line.  Only 
pushing  or  scrimmaging  the  ball  with  the  hand  is  allowed. 
The  goal  defenders  may  place  only  one  foot  over  the  goal 
line.  EOugli  play,  hitting  the  ball  when  down,  advancing  the 
ball  in  any  way  except  by  pushing  or  scrimmaging,  blocking 
the  ball  except  with  one  hand,  and  the  like,  are  fouls.  A  foul 
entitles  the  offended  side  to  try  for  a  goal.  One  forward 
tosses  up  the  ball  and  another  forward  attempts  to  bat  it 
across  the  enemy's  goal  line.  The  offending  side,  from  the 
goal  line,  may  try  to  knock  the  ball  back  into  the  field. 
Forwards  and  defenders  change  places  after  each  goal. 

Corner  Keep  Ball.  This  is  a  modification  of  Keep  Ball.  A 
convenient  court,  perhaps  thirty  feet  long  and  twenty  feet 
wide,  is  marked  off,  a  straight  line  dividing  it  in  halves.  At 
each  corner  is  a  base.  Each  side  takes  position  in  its  half  of  the 
field,  placing  a  plajer  in  each  of  the  two  bases  in  the  corners  of 
the  enemy's  field.  The  game  consists  in  passing  the  baU  back 
and  forth  to  the  basemen,  while  the  enemy  attempt  to  inter- 
cept it  and  pass  it  to  their  own  basemen.  Players  must  keep 
in  their  own  territory,  but  may  otherwise  move  about  at  will. 


212  EDUCATION  BY  PLAY8  AND  GAMES 

Captain  Ball.  This  game  is  similar  to  Corner  Ball,  but 
has  five  bases  arranged  along  the  outer  boundaries,  a  center 
base  in  each  half  of  the  field,  and  a  narrow  neutral  space 
between  the  halves.  The  captain  of  each  side  is  stationed  in 
the  central  base,  a  player  m  each  of  the  other  bases,  and  four 
players  or  runners  in  the  enemy's  field.  The  game  consists  in 
passing  the  ball,  which  is  put  m  play  in  the  neutral  territory, 
from  the  namers  to  the  basemen,  and  then  to  the  captain. 
The  other  side  attempts  to  get  possession  of  the  ball  and  pass 
it  to  its  own  basemen  and  captain.  Runners  may  not  pass 
beyond  the  neutral  space  nor  may  they  pass  the  ball  directly 
to  the  captain.  Every  time  the  ball  is  passed  successfully  to 
the  captain  a  point  is  scored  for  that  side.  The  ball  is  then 
put  in  play  again  as  in  the  beginning.  The  number  of  players 
and  bases  may  be  varied. 

Siege.  One  side  takes  possession  of  a  part  of  the  play- 
ground, as  in  Battle  for  the  Banner,  arranging  players  as 
seems  best.  The  other  side  makes  an  attack  and  endeavors, 
by  carrying,  pushing,  or  pulling,  to  take  as  many  prisoners  as 
possible  and  place  them  outside  the  field.  The  side  having 
possession  of  the  field  endeavors  to  take  prisoners  and  place 
them  in  a  prison  marked  off  within  their  territory.  Prisoners 
may  not  return  to  fight.  A  third  player  may  not  mterfere 
with  two  who  are  struggling. 

Babylonian.  This  is  a  kind  of  Drive  Ball.  The  j)layers 
of  each  side  form  a  line,  clasping  each  other  about  the  waist, 
and  endeavor  to  drive  a  medicine  ball  across  the  enemy's 
goal  by  using  the  feet  only. 

Peg  Driving.  All  the  players  have  sticks.  A  hole  is  made 
in  the  ground  and  a  basket  ball  is  placed  in  it.  In  a  circle 
about  the  ball  are  made  small  holes,  one  less  than  the  number 


PERIOD  FIVE  213 

(jf  players.  The  game  begins  by  all  placing  their  sticks  under 
the  basket  ball,  and  raising  it  out  of  its  hole,  each  one  then 
hastening  to  place  the  end  of  his  stick  in  one  of  the  small  holes. 
The  player  who  does  not  succeed  in  getting  a  hole  tries  to  roll 
the  large  ball  back  into  its  hole,  the  others  trymg  to  prevent 
him,  while  he,  meantime,  watches  for  a  chance  to  get  his  stick 
into  one  of  the  small  holes.  Wlioever  is  left  without  a  hole  for 
his  stick  must  try  to  roll  the  basket  ball  into  its  hole.  When 
a  player  is  successful  in  this  the  game  starts  over  again. 

Volley  Ball.  A  net  or  a  neutral  space  divides  the  field  into 
two  equal  parts.  A  light  ball  is  served  by  one  of  the  players 
from  the  back  line  of  his  court  by  tossing  it  up  and  batting 
it  with  the  hand  over  the  net  mto  the  opponents'  field.  The 
opponents  endeavor  to  bat  the  ball  back  without  lettmg  it 
touch  the  floor  or  ground.  The  ball  is  batted  back  and  forth 
in  this  manner  until  a  miss  is  made,  tliis  counting  a  point  for 
the  other  side.  The  player  missing  then  serves  the  ball  as  at 
the  beginning  of  the  game. 

Newcomh.  In  this  game  the  court  is  divided  in  the  center 
by  a  line.  At  a  distance  of  about  seven  feet  from  this  line, 
on  each  side,  another  line  is  drawn.  The  space  within  these 
lines  is  neutral,  and  l)ack  of  them  on  either  side  the  opposing 
players  are  stationed.  The  object  of  the  game  is  to  throw  the 
ball  back  and  forth  across  the  neutral  space  without  letting 
it  touch  the  grovmd.  The  ball  is  put  in  play  by  a  referee 
from  the  middle  of  the  neutral  ground,  two  players  being 
selected  to  try  for  possession,  after  which  no  player  may  enter 
the  neutral  space  while  the  ball  is  in  play.  If  the  ball  falls 
outside  the  court  or  in  the  neutral  ground,  it  must  be  again 
put  in  play  as  at  first.  When  the  ball  touches  ground  witliin 
the  court  it  counts  a  goal  against  the  side  lettmg  it  fall. 


214  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Test  Mettle.  The  sides  are  stationed  at  some  distance  apart. 
One  calls  out  the  name  of  an  opposing  player  and  the  two 
advance  to  the  middle  ground,  the  first  holding  his  hands 
outstretched.  The  challenged  player  strikes  the  other  on  the 
palm  with  his  hand,  whereupon  the  challenger  must  escape 
by  running  to  his  place  or  he  must  attempt  to  overpower  his 
opponent  by  holding  him  down.  Other  players  may  advance 
to  help  their  mates,  but  not  more  than  four  pairs  should  be 
engaged  at  one  time.  When  a  player  is  overpowered  a  halt 
is  called,  the  players  returning  to  their  respective  sides  of 
the  field,  and  the  prisoner  going  to  prison. 

Dual  Contests  and  Wrestling.  These  were  described  m  the 
preceding  period. 

Boxing.  Mr.  HlLI's  Experiment  with  Pugilism  is  very  sug- 
gestive. He  taught  boxing  to  a  class  of  twenty  boys,  ap- 
parently avoiding  the  evils  of  pugilism,  and  a  noticeable 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  gain  was  made.  The  boys  were 
paired  judiciously  and  all  boxed  at  once.  The  following  rigid 
rules  were  followed :  no  one  shall  strike  a  blow  until  the  bell 
strikes  one ;  all  sparring  must  instantly  cease  at  two  strokes 
of  the  bell ;  attention  must  be  centered  on  instructor  durmg 
intervals  ;  gloves  must  be  put  into  boxes  immediately  at  three 
strokes  of  the  bell.  The  first  eight  lessons  were  as  follows : 
(1)  position ;  (2)  offense, —  straight  lead  with  left ;  defense, — 
step  back  hi  position  ;  (3)  straight  lead  with  left ;  guard  with 
right  and  counter  with  left ;  (4)  swing  with  left ;  guard  with 
right  and  counter  on  body  with  left ;  (5)  swing  with  right ; 
guard  with  left  and  counter  with  right ;  (6)  feint  with  left  and 
lead  right  to  jaw ;  guard  with  riglit  and  left ;  (7)  lead  with 
left ;  move  head  to  left  and  cross  counter  with  right ;  (8)  lead 
with  left;  side  step,  and  cross  counter  with  right. 


Eight  Lessons  ix  Boxing 
Kiiiduess  of  D.  S.  Hill 


215 


216  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

There  resulted  a  new  bond  of  friendship  between  teacher 
and  pupils.  Timid  boys  developed  obvious  self-confidence 
and  strength.  Muscular  development  of  shoulders,  arms,  and 
neck  became  evident.  There  was  an  increase  in  agility  and 
grace  of  movement.  Coordination  of  eye  and  arm  and  abihty 
to  use  two  arms  at  once  were  improved.  "  BuUyish "  boys 
were  tamed.  Wholesome  respect  and  acknowledgment  of 
what  the  other  fellow  could  do  were  engendered,  together 
with  consciousness  of  the  power  of  self-defense.  Interest  in 
personal  hygiene  was  awakened.  General  improvement  in 
class  work  was  noticeable,  in  some  cases  remarkable.  One 
boy,  deficient  in  studies  and  under  probation  for  insolence, 
became  a  mainstay  (»f  discipline  and  a  satisfactory  scholar. 

Miscellaneous  games  for  physical  development.  Among 
the  games  of  this  period  involving  trial  of  control,  strength, 
quickness,  and  skill  may  be  mentioned  the  following : 

Athletic  Events}  These  include  the  50-yard  dash  (standard, 
14  seconds);  220-yard  dash  ;  440-yard  dasli ;  880-yard  run  ; 
120-yard  hurdles  (10  hurdles,  each  3  ft.  6  in.  in  height);  220- 
yard  hurdles  (hurdles,  2  ft.  6  in.  in  height) ;  440-yard  relay 
race;  880-yard  relay  race;  running  broad  jump;  standing 
broad  jump  (standard,  6  ft.  6  in.) ;  running  high  jump ;  pole 
jump;  pole  vault;  putting  8-pound  shot;  hop,  step,  and  jump; 
Pull  up,  or  Chinning  the  Bar  (standard,  6  times). 

Swimming.  All  boys  and  girls  should  be  taught  to  swim 
before  the  close  of  this  period.  Fancy  swimming  may  now 
be  begun,  also  diving  and  swimming  games. 

Much  value  now  lies  in  moderate  rowing,  canoeing,  sailing, 

bicycling,  and  tramping ;  also  in  the  winter  sports  such  as 

coasting,  skating,  snowshoeing,  skeeing,  and  the  like. 

1  See  Official  Handbook  of  the  Public  Schools  Athletic  Leagiie,  Ameri- 
can Si)orts  Pnbli.shin;!  Coiiipany,  New  York. 


PERIOD  FIVE 


217 


Mention  should  also  be  made  of  the  value  of  such  exercises 
as  tumbling,  balancing,  tight-rope  or  wire  walking,  juggling, 
and  the  like. 

Miscellaneous  intellectual  games.  Among  the  games  of 
this  period  involving  trial  of  tlie  mental  powers,  —  attention, 
observation,  memory,  imagination,  and  judgment,  —  should  be 
included  games  previously  described  under  this  class,  such  as 
Charades ;  History  Games ;  Historical  Tableaux  ;  Illustrated 


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f 

i'Mff^v^Mik 

t^  >>' aMn  m-  ^HB 

/ 

1 

Jyipp^ 

iw^iB 

Sn 

^^KV^  Wi  A  9^r^ 

""^MCb 

v^H^  ■ 

" 

i'LTTiNG  y-rouND  Shot 

Proverbs  ;  Historical  Pictures  ;  Illustrated  Ballads  ;  Synthe- 
sis ;  Who  was  He ;  Clumps ;  Animal,  Vegetable,  or  Mmeral ; 
Twenty  Questions ;  also  such  games  as  Checkers,  Chess, 
Dominoes,  Backgammon,  Parchesi,  Halma,  Authors,  Wliist, 
and  other  card  and  table  games.  Here  also  may  be  men- 
tioned language  puzzles,  conmidrums,  and  arithmetical  puzzles. 
Teakettle.  One  player  leaves  the  room  while  the  rest  fix 
upon  some  word,  preferal)ly  a  word  of  two  or  more  meanings, 
as,  for  example,  "hail,"  "hale."  The  player  is  then  recalled  and 


218  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

asks  questions  of  each.  Every  answer  must  contain  the  word 
thought  of,  in  one  of  its  meanings,  but  instead  of  speaking  the 
word,  "  teakettle "  is  substituted  for  it.  From  the  answers 
the  player  must  gviess  the  word  thought  of. 

Parlor  Magic.  The  trick  is  to  tell  who  has  a  given  object. 
One  leaves  the  room.  Some  object  previously  agreed  upon  is 
given  into  the  possession  of  one  of  the  players.  The  player 
who  left  the  room,  and  who,  with  the  exception  of  his  accom- 
plice, is  the  only  one  in  the  secret,  returns  and  carefully  looks 
at  all  the  players.  Meantime  the  accomplice  places  his  hands 
in  the  same  position  in  which  the  person  who  has  the  object 
happens  to  hold  his  hands.  From  that  the  player  takes  his 
cue  and  names  the  person  who  has  the  object.  If  alertness 
and  care  are  exercised,  the  rest  of  the  players  may  be  greatly 
mystified  for  a  time. 

To  Tell  an  Object  Tliowjht  Of.  The  accomplice  has  a  cane 
in  his  hand  and  goes  through  mysterious  motions,  talking  non- 
sense and  rapping  his  cane  on  the  floor.  In  this  waj  he  spells 
out  the  name  of  the  object.  The  third  word  of  each  sentence 
begins  with  the  consonant  desired  for  spelling  the  name  of  the 
object  thought  of.  The  vowels  are  given  by  raps  of  the  cane, 
—  one  for  a,  two  for  c,  three  for  i,  four  for  o,  and  five  for  u. 

A  simpler  but  more  easily  detected  method  is  the  follow- 
ing. The  accomplice  asks  such  questions  as  "  Is  it  a  book  ?  " 
"  Is  it  a  clock  ? "  etc.,  to  which  the  player  answers  No  in 
every  case,  until  the  accomplice  asks  a  question  containing 
the  name  of  something  previously  agreed  upon, —  say,  any- 
thing with  four  legs.  Tlie  next  question  to  that  will  contain 
the  word  thought  of  and  will  be  answered  by  Yes. 

To  Tell  a  Number  Thought  Of.  The  one  who  is  to  tell 
the  number  thought  of  places  his  hands  upon  the  cheeks  of 


PERIOD  FIVE  219 

the  accomplice,  who  tliinks  hard.  Meantime  he  bites  gently, 
the  mind  reader  counting  the  movements  of  the  cheek  muscles. 
Hundreds,  tens,  and  units  may  be  told  by  pausing  after  each 
series  and  then  beginning  again.  For  example,  234  could  be 
signaled  as  follows  :  two  bites,  pause  ;  three  bites,  pause  ;  four 
bites,  final  pause. 

My  Next-Boor  Neiglibor.  The  uninitiated  leave  the  room. 
Those  who  remain  are  supposed  to  select  some  player  whose 
name  must  be  guessed  by  each  of  the  absent  players  on  their 
return.  The  player  chosen  is  each  player's  left-hand  neigh- 
bor. One  of  the  absent  players  is  then  brought  in  and  allowed 
to  ask  a  question  of  each  player  in  turn.  Since  the  one  thought 
of  (always  the  left-hand  neighbor  of  the  one  answering)  changes 
with  every  new  question,  the  answers  are  very  puzzling. 

Sleight  of  Hand.  Interest  in  sleight  of  hand  is  keen  at 
this  time  and  should  be  utilized  in  connection  with  the  study 
of  pliysics.    ]\Iany  good  elementary  manuals  are  available. 

Arithmetic.  Arithmetical  and  geometrical  puzzles  may  be 
used  in  connection  with  school  work  in  arithmetic;  also 
some  of  the  arithmetical  games  mentioned  in  the  previous 
period.  The  aritlimetical  standards  may  increase  in  difficulty 
and  may  be  made  to  involve  algebra  and  geometry.  Some 
of  Aiken's  methods  of  mind  training  will  be  found  very 
useful  here. 

Language.  This  is  the  period  of  keenest  verbal  memory. 
There  is  a  natural  interest  in  language  learning,  and  interest 
in  reading  is  also  at  its  height.  These  facts  should  be  taken 
advantage  of  in  scliool  work.  The  dramatic  interest  may  be 
utilized  in  the  study  of  literature.  Some  of  the  games  of  the 
previous  period,  described  on  pages  201-203,  may  be  selected 
and  adapted  for  this  period.    Tlie  interest  in  printing  papers, 


220  EDUCATION  BY  TLAYS  AND  GAMP:S 

in  debates,  biography,  and  history  may  be  utilized  as  sug- 
gested in  the  previous  period. 

History.  TMs  is  the  period  of  awakening  historic  sense 
and  of  interest  in  history  proper.  The  use  of  original  sources 
may  well  begin  here.  Note  other  suggestions  made  on  pages 
199-200. 

Drawing  and  art.  The  awakening  of  sentimental  love  of 
nature  and  of  greater  appreciation  of  beauty  in  nature  and  art 


Types  of  Voluntkeu  Nature  Wokk. 
Kinduess  of  C.  A.  Putnam 

makes  the  time  favorable  for  the  right  study  of  these  sub- 
jects and  lends  interest  to  nature  sketching.  The  interest  m 
the  objects  constructed  tends  to  increase  interest  in  art  in  con- 
nection with  the  constructive  interest.  Carving  and  pyrog- 
raphy  correlate  with  manual  training  in  the  embellishment 
of  cabinet  pieces,  toys,  clubhouses,  etc.  Interest  m  history 
tends  to  increase  interest  in  the  illustration  of  story  and 
narrative,  as  suggested  under  History  and  Drawing,  pages 
200  and  203. 


PERIOD  FIVE 


221 


Music.  Interest  in  organization  tends  to  associate  the 
musical  interest  with  musical  clubs,  particularly  those  of 
banjo  and  mandolin.  This  tendency  is  more  generally  mani- 
fested, however,  in  the  case  of  older  boys  and  girls,  who  have 
sufficient  organizing  ability  to  carry  on  a  club. 

Nature  study.  The  exploring,  fisliing,  collecting,  and 
kindred  interests  of  the   previous  period   continue.    These 


Photograph  by  Mrs.  E.  E.  Trumbull 

activities  are  more  definite  in  method,  and  the  element  of  use 
is  prominent.  Sentimental  love  of  nature  and  appreciation  of 
its  beauty  lend  interest  to  certain  types  of  nature  work.  The 
camping  and  hunting  interests  furnish  an  adequate  motive  for 
genuine  woodcraft.  The  trahiing  of  animals  and  the  rearing' 
of  pets  should  be  encouraged.  The  money  interest,  sometimes 
identified  with  the  keeping  and  training  of  animals,  may  be 
recognized.    Nature  collections  should  be  pursued  according 


222  EDUCATION   BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

to  individual  tastes,  and  may  include  such  as  the  following ': 
flowers  for  preservation  and  transplanting ;  nursery  of  native 
trees  and  shrubs;  mmerals,  arrowheads,  and  other  Indian 
relics;  abandoned  bird  nests;  vivarium  for  snakes  and  toads; 
nests  of  ants  and  other  insects ;  developing  cages  for  cater- 
pillars; aquarium  for  water  animals  and  insects;  menagerie 
for  native  ground  animals,  squirrels,  and  the  like;  butterflies 
and  other  msects  and  bugs;  flower  calendar;  l)ird  calendar. 
Gardening  may  be  undertaken  on  an  ambitious  scale,  and 
should  be  conducted  as  in  the  j)revious  period. 

Manual  training.  The  followmg  list  is  suggestive  of  the 
types  of  constructive  mterests  of  this  period :  clubhouse, 
camp  ;  workshop  ;  printing  shop  ;  dark  room  ;  outdoor  gym- 
nasium ;  canoe,  flatboat,  house  boat,  sails  ;  doghouse;  pigeon 
pen;  back-yard  menagerie,  zoo  ;  aquarium,  fish  pond;  fish  and 
insect  nets ;  cages  ;  traps ;  taxidermy ;  fishing  tackle  and  liunt- 
ing  implements  ;  bird  houses,  bird  cages  ;  box  kites  ;  electrical 
and  mechanical  toys,  machinery;  back-yard  rollway,  tobog- 
gan slide  ;  circus  ;  household  utensils,  and  furniture  for  club- 
houses, camps,  and  boy's  room  ;  cabinet  making,  clocks,  desks, 
tables  ;  decorating,  painting,  carving, modeling;  sewing;  weav- 
ing ;  knitting ;  fancy  work,  embroidery ;  designing  and  making 
doll  dresses,  millinery  ;  modeling ;  carving ;  burnt-wood  work  ; 
passepartout ;  cooking. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


PERIODS  OF   OROWTH 

Rryan,  E.  B.  Nascent  Stages  and  their  Pedagogical  Significance. 
Pedagogical  Seminary  (October,  1900),  VII,  357-396. 

I>UHK,  F.  L.  From  Fundamental  to  Accessory  in  the  Development 
of  the  Nervous  System  and  of  INIovements.  Pedagogical  Semi- 
nary (October,  1898),  VI,  5-64. 

BuRNHAM,  W.  H.  Education  from  the  Genetic  Point  of  View. 
Proceedings  of  the  National  Educational  Association  (1905), 
pp.  727-732. 

BuRNHAM,  AV.  H.  Hygiene  of  the  Kindergarten  Child.  Proceedings 
of  the  National  Educational  Association  (1904),  pp.  416-422. 

BuRNHAM,  W.  H.  Suggestions  from  the  Psychology  of  Adolescence. 
School  Review  (1897),  V,  652-665. 

Chamberlain,  A.  F.  The  Child.  W.Scott,  London,  1903.  498  pages. 
See  especially  Chapter  IV. 

Christopher,  W.  S.  Three  Crises  in  Child  Life.  Child-Study 
Monthly  (1897),  III,  324-335. 

Clouston,  T.  S.  The  Neuroses  of  Development.  Simpkin,  London, 
1891.     138  pages. 

GuiLLET,  Cephas.  Recapitulation  and  Education.  Pedagogical  Sem- 
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GuLiCK,  L.  H.  Some  Psychical  Aspects  of  Muscular  Exercise.  Pop- 
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Hall,  G.  S.  Adolescence.  D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York,  1904. 
2  volumes. 

Hartwell,  E.  M.  Physical  Training,  its  Function  and  Place  in 
Education.  American  Physical  Educational  Review  (1897),  II, 
133-151. 

223 


224  EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 

Hutchinson,  Woods.    The  Growth  of  the  Child  Mind.   Educational 

Times  (1899),  LIl,  219-220. 
King,  Irving.    The  Psychology  of  Child  Development.    University 

Press,  Chicago,  1903.    26.5  pages. 
Lancaster,  E.  G.    The  Psychology  and  Pedagogy  of  Adolescence. 

Pedagogical  Seminary  (July,  1897),  V,  61-128. 
Tanner,   A.    E.    The  Child,  his    Thinking,  Feeling,  and  Doing. 

Rand,  McNally  &  Co.,  Chicago,  1904.    430  pages. 


MEANING- OF  PLAY 

Chamberlain,  A.  F.   The  Child.    W.  Scott,   London,   1903.    498 

pages.     See  especially  Chapter  II. 
CoLOZzA,    G.    A.    Psychologie    imd    Padagogik    des    Kinderspiels. 

O.  Bonde,  Altenburg,  1900.    272  pages. 
Gross,  Karl.    The  Play  of  Animals.    D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York, 

1898.    341  pages. 
Gross,  Karl.    The  Play  of  Man.    D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  York, 

1901.    412  pages. 
GuLiCK,  L.  H.    Psychological,  Pedagogical,  and  Religious  Aspects  of 

Group  Games.    Pedagogical  Seminary  (March,  1899),  YI,  135- 

151. 
Guts  Muths,  J.  C.  F.   Spiele  zur  Uebung  und  Erholung  des  Korpers 

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1796.    492  pages. 
Hall,  G.  S.    Adolescence.    D.  Appleton  &  Co.,  New  Y^ork,  190 

2  volumes.    See  especially  II,  202-236.  » 

Mosso,  Angelo.    Mechanism  of  the  Emotions.    Clark  LTniversit;y 

Decennial  Celebration  Publication  (1899),  pp.  396-407. 
Mosso,  Angelo.    Psychic  Processes  and  Muscular  Exercise.    Clark 

University  Decennial  Celebration  Publication  (1899),  pp.  383- 

395. 
Stanley,  H.  M.    Professor  Gross  and  Theories  of  Play.    Psycho- 
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Strachan,  John.    What  is  Play?    Edinburgh,  1877. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  226 


-PLAY  IN   EDUCATION 


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Dopp,  K.  E.     The   Place  of  Industries  in  Elementai-y  Education. 

University  Press,  Chicago,  1903.    208  pages. 
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Froebel,  F.  W.  a.    Education  of  Man.    D.  Appletou  &  Co.,  New 

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Froebel,  F.  W.  A.    Mutter  und  Kose-Lieder.    A.  Pichler,  Leipzig, 

1883.    228  pages. 
Hodge,  C.  F.    Nature  Study  and  Life.    Ginn  &  Company,  Boston, 

1902.    514  pages. 
Hughes,  J.  L.     Educational  Value  of  Play  and  the  Recent  Play 

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Hutchinson,  Woods.  Play  as  an  Education.   Contemporary  Review 

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Johnson,  G.  E.    An  Educational  Experiment.    Pedagogical  Semi- 
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Lee,  Joseph.    Playground  Education.    Educational  Review  (1901), 

XXII,  449-471. 
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226  EDUCATION   BY  TLAYS  AND  GAMES 


PLAYS   AND   GAMES 

Alexander,  A.    New  Gaines  and  Sports.     George  Philip  &  Son. 

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Babcock,  W.  H.  Games  of  Washington  Children.   American  Anthro- 
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Badmington   Library   of    Sports   and   Pastimes.     Longmans, 

Green  &  Co.,  London  (edited  by  Somerset  and  Watson). 
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pages. 
Beard,  D.  C.    The  American  Boy's  Handy  Book.     Charles  Scrib- 

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Beard,  D.  C.    Tlie  Outdoor  Handy  Book.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 

New  Y^ork,  1900.    490  pages. 
Beard,  D.  C.    The  Jack  of  All  Trades.    Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 

New  Y^ork,  1900.    291  pages. 
Bkahd,  Lina,  and  A.  B.   The  American  Girl's  Handy  Book.   Charles 

Scribner's  Sons,  New  York,  1898. 
i>KLEZE,  G.    Jeux  des  adolescents.     Hachette  &  C'<^,  I'aris,   1891. 

352  pages. 
Benson,  J.  K.    The  Book  of  Indoor  Games.    J.  B.  Lippincott  Com- 
pany, Philadelphia,  1904.    354  pages. 
Benson,  J.  K.   The  Book  of  Sports  and  Pastimes.   C.  Arthur  Pearson, 

Philadelphia,  1907.    344  pages. 
JioND,  A.  Russell.    Tlie  Scientific  American  Boy.    IVIiiini  &  Co., 

New  York,  1900.    317  pages. 
Cassell.    Book  of  Indoor  Sports  and  Amusements.    Cassell,  New 

York,  1881. 
Cassell.    Book  of  Sports  and  Pastimes.    Cassell,  New  York,  1881. 
Champlin,  J.  D.,  and  Bostwick,  A.  E.    Y'oung  Folk's  Cyclopedia 

of  Games  and  Sports.    H.  Holt  &  Co.,  New  York,  1899.     784 

pages. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  227 

Chesley,  a.  M.  Indoor  and  Outdoor  Gymnastic  Games  (Spald- 
ing's Athletic  Library).  American  Sports  Publishing  Com- 
pany, 1902.    128  pages. 

Croswell,  T.  R.  Amusements  of  Worcester  School  Children.  Ped- 
agogical Seminary  (September,  1899),  VI,  31-4-37L 

CuLiN,  Stewart.  Sti-eet  Games  of  Boys  in  Brooklyn,  New  York. 
Journal  of  American  Folklore  (1891),  IV,  221-237. 

Dopp,  K.  E.  The  Place  of  Industries  in  Elementary  Education. 
University  Press,  Chicago,  1903.    208  jiages. 

Evans,  Henry  Ridgely.  The  Old  and  Xew  Magic.  The  Open 
Court  Publishing  Company,  Chicago,  1900.    3-18  pages. 

Gomme,  a.  B.  The  Traditional  Games  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland.  Dictionary  of  British  Folklore.  D.  Nutt,  London, 
1891-1898.    2  volumes. 

Grey,  Marion.  Two  Hundred  Indoor  and  Outdoor  Games.  Frei- 
denker  Publishing  Co.,  Milwaukee.    60  pages. 

GuLiCK,  L.  H.  Physical  Education  by  Muscular  Exercise.  P. 
Blakiston,  Philadelphia,   1901.    67  pages. 

Hall,  A.  Neely.  The  Boy  Craftsman.  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard 
Co.,  Boston,  1905.    393  pages. 

Hall,  G.  S.  The  Story  of  a  Sand  Pile.  Scribner's  Magazine  (June, 
1888),  III,  690-696. 

Harper,  C.  A.  One  Hundred  and  Fifty  Gymnastic  Games.  G.  II. 
Ellis,  Boston,  1902.    159  pages. 

Hoffman,  Professor.  Puzzles,  Old  and  New.  Warne,  Frederick  & 
Co.,  New  York,  1894. 

Hopkins,  Albert  A.  Magic.  Munn  &  Co.,  New  York,  1906.  550 
pages. 

Jahrbuch  fur  Volks-und  Jugendspiele  (herausgegeben  von  II. 
Wickenhagen),  Vol.  XV.  R.  Voigtlander,  Leipzig,  1906.  271 
pages. 

Johnson,  John.  Rudimentary  Society  among  Boys.  Johns  Ho2>kins 
University  Studies  in  History  and  Political  Science  (1881),  II,  56. 

Kingsland,  Mrs.  Burton.  The  Book  of  Indoor  and  Outdoor 
Games.    Doubleday,  Page  &  Co.,  New  York,  1901.    610  pages. 

Kirk,  Mrs.  Florence.  Old  English  Games  and  Exercises.  Long- 
mans, Green  &  Co.,  London  and  New  York,  1906.    51  pages. 


228  p:ducati()n  by  plays  and  gamp:s 

Krkunz,  Franz.  Bewegungs[>iel  iind  Wettkiiinpfe.  F.  Ppcliel, 
Graz,  1897.    256  pages. 

Lincoln,  Jeanktte  C.  ]\Iay-Pole  J)aiu;e.s.  Ainericui  Gymnasia  Co., 
Boston,  1907. 

LiNDLEY,  E.  H.  A  Study  of  Puzzles,  with  Special  Reference  to  the 
Psychology  of  Mental  Adaptation.  American  Journal  of  Psy- 
chology (July,  1897),  VIII,  431-493. 

Lion,  J.  C,  and  Wortman,  J.  II.  Katechismus  der  Bewegungspiele 
fur  die  deutche  Jugend.    "VVeber,  Leipzig,  1891.    172  pages. 

McGhee.  A  Study  in  the  Play  Life  of  Some  South  Carolina  Chil- 
dren.   Pedagogical  Seminary  (December,  1900),  VII,  459-478. 

Newell,  W.  W.  Games  and  Songs  of  American  Children.  Harper 
&  Bros.,  New  Y^ork,  1903.  282  pages. 

Nugent,  Meredith.  New  Games  and  Amusements.  Doubleday, 
Page  &  Co.,  New  Y'ork,  1905.    266  pages. 

Pollard,  Jose.  Plays  and  Games  for  Little  Folks.  MacLoughlin 
Bros.,  New  Y'ork,  1889. 

PouLssoN,  A.  E.  Finger  Plays.  Lothrop,  Lee  &  Shepard  Co., 
Boston,  1893.    80  pages. 

Raydt,  H.  Die  deutchen  Stildte  und  das  Jugendspiel.  Manz  & 
Lange,  Hannover,  1891.    172  pages. 

ScHAEFER,  W.  C.  Games  for  Schools  and  Gymnasia.  Freidenker 
Publishing  Co.,  Milwaukee,  1900.    34  pages. 

Seton,  Ernest  Thompson,  The  Birch-Bark  Roll.  Doubleday,  Page 
&  Co.,  New  York,  1900.    66  pages. 

Spalding's  Athletic  Lirrary  Publications.  American  Sports 
Publishing  Company,  New  York. 

Stanyon,  Ellis.  Conjuring  for  Amateurs.  Charles  Scribner's  Sons, 
New  York,  1897. 

Stecher,  William  A.  Gymnastics  :  a  Text-Book  of  German- 
American  Gymnastics.  Lothroi),  Lee  &  Shepard  Co.,  Boston, 
1896.    348  pages. 

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nam's Sons,  New  Y'ork,  1906.    551  pages. 


INDEX 


Acting  Cliarades,  190 

Acting  Titles,  187 

Activities,  instinctive,  4I 

Adjectives,  2()o 

Adventui-ers,  1!)8 

Adverbs,  203 

American  Football,  175 

Anagrams,  1-32 

Andover  Play  School,  44,  ol 

Anecdotes,  201 

Animal,  Vegetable,  or  Mineral,  180 

Apparatus   and   toys,    83,    87,  Oo, 

156,  207 
Arcliery,  111,  157 
Aritlimetic,  140-145,  193-104,  210 
Aritlimetical  Standards,  103 
Arithmetical  Races,  104 
Arnold,  E.  II.,  210 
Art,  220 
As   We    Go  Round    the    Mulberry 

Bush,  136 
Association,  66 
Assumed  Characters,  200 
Athletic  Events,  216 

Baljylonian,  212 
Balancing,  184 
Baldwin,  3() 
Balloon  Ball,  107,  172 
Baseball,  160,  176 
Basedow,  31,  40 
Basket  Ball,  170 
Baste  the  Bear,  163 


Battle  for  the  Banner,  176 

Bean  Bags,  142 

Bird  Catcher,  116 

Black  Man,  105 

Blind  Man's  Buff,  122 

Boiler  Burst,  The,  102 

Bookbinder,  118 

Bound  Hands,  104 

Bowling,  176 

Boxing,  180,  214 

Brain,  growth  of,  65,  68,  70 

Breast  to  Mouth,  184 

Bridge  Board,  145 

Brinton,  64 

Bull  in  the  Ring,  161 

Buried  Words,  152 

Burk,  Dr.  Frederick,  12 

Button,  Button,  133 

Camping,  146 
Capping  Verses,  lOD 
Captain  Ball,  212 
Card  and  Table  Games,  193 
Cat  and  :\Iouse,  100 
Catch  Ball,  107 
Cat's  Cradle,  118 
Center  Base,  161 
Chalk  the  Arrow,  167 
Chamberlain,  6 
Characters,  200 
Chariot  Race,  169 
Chesley,  A.  M.,  210 
Chickens.  140 


229 


230 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Child  culture,  object  of,  7 

Child  study,  37 

Chinning  the  Bar,  186 

Circle  Ball,  107 

Clouston,  7(i 

C'lumps,  188 

Coasting,  157 

Cockfight,  181 

Collecting,  78,  90,  145 

Colozza,  20 

Come,  It  Comes,  133 

Come  with  Me,  101 

Coramenius,  30 

Competitive  games,  75,  208 

Comte,  30 

Construction,  45 

Constructive    plays,    00,    08,    158. 

See  Manual  Training 
Continued  Stories,  201 
Conversations,  Two-Minute,  201 
Conveyances,  203 
Corn  and  Beans,  187 
Corner  Ball,  171 
Corner  Keep  Ball,  211 
Correspondence,  203 
Counting,  140 
Crackabout,  171 
Crambo,  127 
Cricket,  176 
Croquet,  176 
Cushion  Dance,  30 

Dancing,  139 
J)are  Base,  104 
Darwin,  30,  37 
Day  and  Night,  163 
Debates,  203 
Dice,  140 
Dictionary,  153 
DodKC  Ball,  172 


Dolls,  75,  78 

Dominoes,  140 

Dot  and  Carry  Two,  183 

Dramatic  plays,  75,  90,  150,  158 

Dramatics,  203 

Drawing  plays,  91,  154,  220 

Drive  Ball,  172 

Drop  the  Handkerchief,  101 

Dual  Contests,  180 

Duck  on  a  Rock,  170 

Egg  Polo,  116 

Eliot,  President,  19,  20,  22 

Encounters,  107 

Erasmus,  30 

Evolution,  3,  4,  37 

Exi)loring,  145 

Falkener,  26 

Famous  Men,  199 

Famous  Numbers,  199 

Farmer  in  the  Dell,  137 

Fast  Runners,  105 

Fatigue,  71,  76;  muscular,  43 

Feather  Game,  116 

F^nelon,  31 

Finger  Feat,  182 

Fireman's  Race,  109 

Fisherman,  117 

Five  Geese  in  a  Flock,  105 

Follow  the  Leader,  105,  164 

Football,  17() 

Fox,  163 

Fox  and  Farmer,  162 

Fox  and  Geese,  165,  192 

French  Blind  Man's  Huff,  122 

Froebel,  35,  36,  38 

Games  of  experimentation,  111 
Gardening,  146,  19(5 


L\DEX 


231 


Geography,  147-141),  196 

Give-Away,  191 

Go  Round  and  Round  the  Valley, 

136 
Goethe,  36 

Going  to  Jerusalem,  106 
Golf,  176 
Gomme,  136 
Grace  Hoops,  175 
Greeks,  26,  28 
Green  Gravel,  137 
Green  Wolf,  162 
Groos,  38,  39 
Guess  games,  93,  132 
Gulick,  42,  63 
Guts  Muths,  33,  34,  38 
Gypsy,  101 

Hailman,  36 

Hall,  36,  75 

Halleck,  130 

Handball,  176 

Hare  and  Hound,  1()6 

Hartwell,  72 

Have  You  Seen  My  Sheep,  101 

Hawk  and  Chickens,  102 

Hegel,  36 

Herbart,  37 

Hidden  Proverbs,  187 

Hide  and  Seek,  100 

Hide  in  Sight,  127 

High  or  Low,  133 

Hill  Dill,  103,  160 

Historical  Drama,  200 

Historical  Pictures,  200 

Historical  Tableaux,  200 

History,  188,  199,  220 

History  Game,  198 

Hockey,  176 

Hoop  Race,  107 


Hoppin,  28 
Hopping  Bases,  164 
Hopping  Dance,  116 
Hopping  Race,  169 
House  Hiring,  102 
How  Do  You  Like  It,  186 
How  Many  Fingers,  132 
Hughlings-Jackson,  Dr.  11 
Hull  Gull,  133 
Hunkety,  162 
Hunt  the  Ring,  122 
Hunt  the  Slipper,  120 
Huntsman,  106 

I  Love  My  Love,  187 
1  Spy,  100 
Identification,  130 
Imagination,  68-69,  73,  77 
Imitation,  66,  68,  72,  80 
Imitative  Play,  90,  150,  158 
Impromptu  Newspaper,  201 
Indoor  play  rooms,  88 
Insects,  5 

Instinct  and  education,  4 
Instinct,  play  and,  13 
Instincts,  5 
Intery  Mintery,  120 

James,  14 
Jenny  Jones,  138 
Jesuits,  30 
Jolmson,  F.  L.,  18 
Judge  and  Jury,  188 
Jump  Rope,  112 
Jumping,  186 
Jumping  Race,  169 

Kant,  36 
Keep  Ball,  172 
Kindergarten,  40 


232 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Kline,  74 
Knights,  176 
Knocking  Off  Hats,  180 
Knuckle  Down,  182 

Lame  Goose,  103 

Language,  150,  201,  219 

Leap  Frog,  184 

Letters  from  Abroad,  203 

Life,  specific  intensity  of,  72,  70 

Locke,  31 

Logomachy,  152 

London  Bridge,  138 

Long  Reach,  182 

Looby  Loo,  135 

Magical  Music,  128 

Mahaffy,  45 

Manual  training,  222.  See  Con- 
structive Play 

Massachusetts  Civic  League,  57 

Medicine  Ball,  210 

Memory,  G5-67,  77 

Merchants,  199 

Montaigne,  32 

Moral  training,  40 

Morra,  133,  143 

Mosaics,  203 

Mosso,  42,  43 

Motor  activity,  70,  73  ;  coordina- 
tion of,  with  senses,  75,  77 

Mount  Ball,  210 

Music  plays,  92,  154,  204,  220 

Nature  plays,  91,  145-147,  195,  190 

Nature  study,  44,  221 

Newcomb,  213 

Newell,  135 

Next-Door  Neighbor,  219 

Nine-Men's  Morris,  192 


Novels,  201 
Number  Races,  144 
Number  Tops,  141 

Observation,  129 
Obstacle  Race,  169 
Odd  or  Even,  133,  142 

P's  and  Q's,  200 

Paddy  from  Home,  122 

Palm  Spring,  182 

Pantomime  School,  118 

Parlor  Magic,  218 

Peel  Away,  103 

Peg  Driving,  212 

Pegging  the  Map,  148 

Perez,  36 

Periods  of  childhood  :  I,  65-67  ;  II, 

68-70;    III,  70-76;  IV,    76-79; 

V,  79-82 ;  characteristics  of,  83, 

86,  94,  155,  205 
Pestalozzi,  35,  36,  38 
Pets,  147 
Ping-Pong,  176 
Plato,  26 

Play  and  instinct,  13 
Play  and  work,  17 
Play,   explanation   of,   8 ;    motor, 

42  ;  use  of,  in  schools,  39 
Plays,  dramatic  and  imitative,  97  ; 

constructive,  90,  98,   158 ;   free, 

active,  90,  96,  156 
Polo,  176 

Pom  Pom,  Pull  Away,  103 
Post  Office,  203 
Posting,  107 
Potato  Race,  167 
Preyer,  36 
Printing,  150,  201 
Prisoner's  Base.  160 


INDEX 


233 


Prohibitions,  208 

Prostrate  and  Perpendicular,  182 

Pulling  Sticks,  181 

Push  Pole,  181 

Puss  in  the  Corner,  100 

Puzzles,  132 

Pyramid,  192 

Queen  Dido  is  Dead,  120 
Quick,  31 
Quoits,  174 
Quotations,  188 

Rabelais,  28 

Racing,  7 

Railroad  Game,  127 

Reading,  150,  201 

Reaso.iing,  66,  08,  72,  77,  81 

Recapitulation,  4 

Recurrent  games,  130 

Regression,  period  of,  71 

Relay  Race,  107 

Relievo,  162 

Repeating  Games,  149 

Rhythm,  67,  70 

Richter,  32,  38 

Riddles,  130,  154,  193 

Riley,  J.  L.,  51 

Ring  Ball,  174 

Kingtoss,  111,  176 

Hitter,  31 

Rolling  Hoops,  106 

Rolly-Pooly,  170 

Romanes,  42 

Run,  Sheep,  Run,  104 

Ruth  and  Jacob,  122 

Sail  the  Ship,  112 
Sand  Pile,  147 
Schaefer,  W.  C,  210 


Schiller,  38 
Schoolmaster,  127 
Schoolroom  games,  176-179 
Scrimmage  Ball,  211 
Scripture,  120 
Self-activity,  37 

Senses,  development  of,  65  ;  experi- 
menting with,  67,  68 
Seii^entine  Race,  177 
Sheepfold,  161 
Shinney, 175 
Siege,  212 
Singing  games,  134 
Skating,  157 
Sleight  of  Hand,  219 
Sliced  Maps,  14 
Sling  Shot,  186 
Sling  the  Monkey,  163 
Speech,  66-67 
Spelling,  150,  201 
Spelling  Game,  150 
Spelling  Lotto,  152 
Spelling  Match,  151 
Spencer,  32,  36 
Spud,  171 

Stages  of  growth,  10 
Stealing  Sticks,  103 
Still  Pond,  123 
Stooping  Stretch,  183 
Store,  143 
Stories,  93,  150,  201 
String  Figures,  119 
Suggestion,  72,  78,  80 
Sully,  36 
Swimming,  157,  216 

Tag,  102  ;  Cross,  164  ;   Hang,  165 ; 

Hunting,  165  ;  Whij),  164 
Take  a  Chair  from  Under,  184 
Teakettle,  217 


234 


EDUCATION  BY  PLAYS  AND  GAMES 


Tennis,  176 

Tenpins,  111,  141 

Test  Mettle,  214 

Tether-Ball,  176 

Thompson,  Maurice,  44 

Three  Deep,  166 

Throwing  Light,  186 

Tip  Cat,  173 

Tit-tat-to,  190 

To  Tell  a  Number  Thought  Of.  218 

To  Tell  an  Object  Thought  Of,  218 

Tommy  Tiddler's  Ground,  111 

Town  Ball,  160 

Toy  Money,  143 

Toys.    See  Apparatus 

Trades,  127 

Transitional  games,  208 

Traveler,  198 

Trial  of  the  Thumlj,  182 

Triumph,  The,  183 


Tumble-Down  Dick,  183 
Tumbling,  184 
Turnover,  The,  183 
Turnpikes,  107 
Twenty  Questions,  189 
Twisting  Sticks,  181 
Twos  and  Threes,  166 

Volley  Ball,  213 

Walking  on  a  Tight  Rope,  185 

Wheelbarrow  Race,  169 

AVhen  I  was  a  Shoemaker,  136 

When  I  was  a  Young  Girl,  135 

Whip  Tag,  164 

Who  was  He,  200 

AVicket,  175 

Witch  in  the  Jar,  100 

Wolf,  162 

Wrestling,  179,  180,  214 


ANNOUNCEMENTS 


POTTER-JESCHKE-GILLET 
ORAL  AND  WRITTEN   ENGLISH 

{THREE-BOOK  EDITION) 
PRIMARY  BOOK.     I2mo,  cloth,  274  +  xxx  pages.     Grades  3-4. 
INTERMEDIATE  BOOK,     lamo,  cloth,  270  +  xxili  pages.     Grades  5-6. 
COMPLETE  BOOK.      i2mo,  cloth,  418  -f  xxxiv  pages.    Grades  7-8. 

The  well-known  "  Oral  and  Written  English  "  and  "  Beginners' 
Book  in  Language"  have  been  rearranged  to  meet  the  needs  of 
all  grades. 

Children  often  are  convinced  that  there  is  no  fun  in  anything 
which  is  good  for  them.  This  prejudice  disappears  as  soon  as  the 
teacher  introduces  the  Potter-Jeschke-Gillet  series  in  his  English 
classes.   The  authors  believe  that  children  should  enjoy  their  work. 

The  play-instinct  of  the  child  is  utilized  through  dramatization, 
games,  and  other  devices,  to  create  subconscious  freedom  of  expres- 
sion.   But  the  authors  do  not  carry  this  to  extremes. 

Correct-usage  Drills  avoid  the  cut-and-dried  methods  of  old-time 
language  books  and  offer  instead  stimulating  exercises. 

Grammatical  essentials  are  stressed.  Topics  that  do  not  function 
in  everyday  speech  and  writing  are  either  eliminated  or  transferred 
to  the  appendix. 

New  light  is  thrown  on  the  subject  of  composition.  Here  the 
children  are  taught  to  do  their  own  criticizing.  The  Group-Exercise, 
that  is,  the  socialized  recitation,  provides  the  opportunity  for  this 
significant  pupil  activity. 

(TfVO-BOOK  EDITION) 
BOOK  ONE.     l2mo,  cloth,  420  -|-  xxvi  pages.     Grades  4,  5,  6. 
BOOK  TWO.     l2mo,   cloth,  xix  -|-  329  -t-  xviii  pages.     Grades  7-8. 

(SUPPLEMENTARY  TO   TWO-BOOK  EDITION) 

BEGINNERS'   BOOK  IN  LANGUAGE-  JESCHKE 

I  2mo,  cloth,   168  -|-  XV  pages,  illustrated. 


GINN  AND   COMPANY   Publishers 


ON   ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

GENERAL  METHODS  OF  TEACHING  IN 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

By  Samuel  Chester  Parker,  Professor  of  Education,  The  University 
of  Chicago. 

This  book  is  designed  for  use  in  normal  schools,  kindergarten 
training  schools,  and  teachers'  reading  circles.  The  term  "  elemen- 
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ing the  kindergarten. 

The  book  is  replete  with  practical  illustrations  from  real  teaching 
situations.  Many  unique  features  of  modern  classroom  methods  are 
shown  in  the  photographs  with  which  the  book  is  illustrated. 
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HISTORY   OF   MODERN   ELEMENTARY  EDUCATION 

By  Samuel  Chester  Parker,  Professor  of  Education,  The  University 
of  Chicago. 

This  book  provides  a  continuous,  connected  history  of  elementary 
education  from  the  earliest  vernacular  schools  of  medieval  cities  to  the 
schools  of  the  present.  The  subject  is  considered  under  three  main 
heads :  social  conditions,  educational  theory,  and  school  practice. 
The  relation  of  each  to  historical  development  is  clearly  traced.  Es- 
pecially full  treatment  is  given  Rousseau,  Pestalozzi,  Herbart,  Froebel, 
Colonel  Parker,  and  Dewey.     3 oj  pages,  illustrated 

SCHOOL  EFFICIENCY 

By  Henry  Eastman  Bennett,  Professor  of  Education,  College  of  William 
and  Mary. 

The  first  aim  of  "  School  Efficiency  "  is  to  be  practical  and  genu- 
inely helpful  to  teachers.  The  author  has  discussed  topics  which 
claim  the  attention  of  the  teacher  on  every  day  of  the  school  year, 

—  school  grounds,  buildings,  lighting,  heat  and  ventilation,  health 
inspection,  marking  systems  and  reports,  discipline,  and  many  others, 

—  and  in  discussing  them  has  kept  ever  uppermost  in  his  mind  the 
average  school  of  average  opportunities  and  the  teacher  of  aveiuge 
ability,  which  is  one  of  the  important  reasons  why  this  volume  is  a 
real  contribution  to  the  teacher's  library.     3J4  pages,  illustrated 


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EVERYDAY  PEDAGOGY 

By  Lillian  I.  Lincoln,  State  Normal  School,  Farmington,  Maine.  310  pages 
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ence.   The  book  treats  each  of  the  regular  common-school  subjects  in 
a  separate  chapter.    It  includes  chapters  on  discipline,  conducting  the 
recitation,  and  similar  general  topics. 

WHAT  IS  EDUCATION.? 

By  Ernest  Carroll  Moore,  University  of  California.   357  pages 
What  is  Knowledge.''  The  Doctrine  of  General  Discipline,  Educa- 
tion as  World  Building,  The  Kinds  of  Education,  The  Place  of  Method 
in  Education,  and  other  essays  on  the  underlying  philosophy  of  teaching' 
by  an  experienced  educator. 

THE  DRAMATIC  METHOD  OF  TEACHING 

By  Harriet  Finlay-Johnson.    199  pages,  illustrated 
The  fascinating  story  of  what  the  author  accomplished  as  head  mis- 
tress of  a  unique  school  on  the  Sussex  Downs  of  England.    She  applied 
dramatic  methods  of  teaching  to  every  subject  in  the  school  curriculum, 
with  surprising  results. 

THE  NORMAL  CHILD  AND  PRIMARY  EDUCATION 

By  Arnold    L.  Gesell,  Vale   University,  and    Beatrice   Chandler   Gesell. 
342  pages,  illustrated 

A  FRF.SH,  comprehensive,  nontechnical  study  of  the  child.  Introduc- 
tory chapters  present  in  a  readable  way  the  biological  and  genetic  back- 
ground, and  later  chapters  make  concrete,  practical  applications  of  the 
principles  developed. 

SOCIAL  EDUCATION 

15y  Colin  Alexander  Scott,  Mt.  Holyoke  College.   300  pages 
The  social  forces  at  work  among  pupils  and  the  ways  in  which  these 
can  be  utilized  for  education.    Schools  like  the  George  Junior  Republic 
and  the  Dewey  School  are  studied  for  their  suggestive  value,  but  the 
book  covers  a  much  broader  field. 

EDUCATION  AS  GROWTH:  OR  THE  CULTURE  OF 
CHARACTER 

By    L.    H.  Jones,    iormerly    President    of    Michigan    .State    Normal    College. 
275  pages 

A  DETAii.FD  discussion  of  the  best  ways  of  developing  sound  charac- 
ter through  education.  The  method  of  the  book  is  that  of  evolution, 
each  chapter  treating  the  spiritual  life  of  the  developing  child  on 
a  higher  level. 


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BOOKS  FOR  TEACHERS 

Allen:  Civics  and  Health 

Atwood  and  Thomas :  Teaching  the  New  Geography 

Bennett :  School  Efficiency 

Bloomfield  :  Readings  in  Vocational  Guidance 

Branom  :  The  Teaching  of  Geography 

Brigham :  Geographic  Influences  in  American  History 

Curtis  :  Play  and  Recreation  for  the  Open  Country 

Davis  :  Vocational  and  Moral  Guidance 

Finlay-Johnson  :  The  Dramatic  Method  of  Teaching 

Gesell :  The  Normal  Child  and  Primary  Education 

I  lodge:  Nature  Study  and  Life 

Johnson  :  Education  by  Plays  and  Games 

Johnson  :  What  to  do  at  Recess 

Jones  :  Education  as  Growth 

Judd:  Psychology:  General  Introduction 

Judd :  Psychology  of  High-School  Subjects 

Judd  :   Scientific  Study  of  Education 

Kern  :  Among  Country  Schools 

Kirkpatrick  :   Imagination  and  its  Place  in  Education 

Leavitt :   Examples  of  Industrial  Education 

Leiper :   Language  Work  in  Elementary  Schools 

Lincoln :  Everyday  Pedagogy 

Moore :  Fifty  Years  of  American  Education 

Moore  :  What  is  Education  ? 

Moral  Training  in  the  Public  Schools 

Palmer :  Play  Life  in  the  First  Eight  Years 

Parker:  General  Methods  of  Teaching  in  Elementary  Schools  (Rev. Ed.) 

Parker:  History  of  Modern  Elementary  Education 

Parker:   Methods  of  Teaching  in  High  Schools  (Rev.  Ed.) 

Parker:  Types  of  Elementary  Teaching  and  Learning    [/«/;r.f.f] 

Phillips :  An   Elementary  Psychology 

Read:  An  Introductory  Psychology 

Sargent :  Fine  and  Industrial  Arts  in  Elementary  Schools 

Sargent  and  Miller:    How  Children  Learn  to  Draw 

Scott:  Social  Education 

Smith  :  The  Teaching  of  Arithmetic 

Smith:  The  Teaching  of  Geometry 

Tryon  :   The  Teaching  of  History  in  junior  and  Senior  High  Schools 


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